The Pendulum Slows
by x-evaXOXO
Summary: Have you ever wondered who the taichou of the tenth division was, and what relationship they had with the Visoreds? Perhaps it's time we take matters into our own hands and push the pendulum back. What more shall we discover? ShinjiXOC WARNINGS INSIDE
1. Warnings and Such

_The Pendulum Slows (A Hirako Shinji Romance)_

_By: x-evaXOXO aka Eva_

**Disclaimer**:I do not own Bleach or any of the characters, no matter how much I wish I did. Both the manga and anime are the works of Tite Kubo, a god among manga writers. I do however, own Kaori Otoribashi, the main character of this story. Any other characters that come up whose names you don't recognize, they're also mine.

**Summary **of _The Pendulum Slows_: So much of the past is unknown, and so little has been revealed to us. Perhaps it's time to take matters into our own hands and push the pendulum back, force it to begin swinging in reverse. Still, we can't entirely abandon the present/future so we have to juggle between going backwards and forwards. Everyone's always wondered about the taicho of the tenth squad, who was he/she? Well, maybe it's time we found out nay? Otoribashi Kaori, taicho of the tenth squad for a good sixteen years, and Rose's younger twin sister. Kaori was quite the confusing person, no one in Seireitei could completely understand her. Her feelings, actions, reactions, etc. always had people in a tizzy over her. She was just so random at times, she through people off balance. When they thought they finally had her figured out, she'd lead them off in a different direction, putting them back at square one. Even her best friend Hirako Shinji, taicho of the fifth squad, never could understand that woman. Could that have been the reason he fell in love with her? Let's follow Kaori through her adventures and life in Seireitei as she tries to figure her feelings out for this womanizing blonde. Oh, and we'll make sure to look at the present as well, we need to know how long their relationship lasts anyway.

**Warnings**: Some **Fluff**…at least I think so. Possible **Spoilers** for those of you that don't read the manga and just watch the anime. **Canon,** this follows the story line that Tite Kubo created. A few twists and turns here and there, but most of it (besides the parts with my main character) follows the manga and anime itself. **Sexual Situations **in almost every chapter, so if you no like sex or foreplay...don't read.

**Main Pairing**: Hirako Shinji X Otoribashi Kaori (OC)

**Possible Pairings **(I haven't really decided yet, I'm not that far in the story you see): Kuna Mashiro X Muguruma Kensei, Kurosaki Ichigo X Inoue Orihime, Abarai Renji X Kuchiki Rukia.

**Time skips**: Time skips between the present day (Ichigo's time) in the world of the living, back to Seireitei over one hundred years ago, and after the Hollowification in the world of the living.


	2. Chapter One: Taichou of the Tenth

I gasped, sitting up in bed fully alert. I took a deep breath, trying hard to calm myself down. A dream, that's all it had been. Just a nightmare, nothing more. I couldn't make myself see it that way though, he was trying to get stronger. He wanted control of me, he wanted to force his way out like he used to, but I wasn't going to give in. I was stronger than him, I knew I was, and I always would be. I wouldn't allow him to take control of my life like he had before. Still, as I sat in the darkness, all sorts of doubts began running through my head. Before I could begin questioning myself like I did on a daily basis, I tossed the covers off my body and made to get out of my bed. My bare feet touched the cold floor, but I managed to ignore the feeling like I always did. I walked across my room, trying not to wake up the other eight people in the warehouse, and out the door. I walked down the hallway as silently as I could, before I finally made it to my special window. I climbed out the window and hopped up onto the roof of the warehouse.

I inhaled the night air, ignoring how chilly it was out here, and sat down on the roof. My hair was touching the roof since it was so long, there was no way I'd cut it after all these years of growing it out though. My legs were bare, if you didn't count the sunshine yellow, slightly above mid-thigh length shorts I was wearing. Within seconds, goosebumps began forming across my legs because of the cold metal against them. I rubbed my arms absentmindedly, before I titled my head up towards the heavens. I sighed, staring up at the stars with a serene look on my face.

The night always seemed to have this calming affect on me, it always had been my refuge. Now, it seemed like I needed it more than ever before. Times like these reminded me of when everything had started, when we'd all realized what we had become. Soul Society had abandoned us, they were ready to kill us when they found out about us attaining Hollow powers. It hadn't been our fault though. They should have recognized that, but they hadn't. For that reason, I knew I'd never be able to forgive them for this exile.

I shivered at the feel of the wind against my skin, my spring green hair flew all around my face. I sighed again, not even bothering to mess with my hair. Once the wind stopped, there'd really be no point in it. I wiggled my toes, trying to keep the blood flowing, but they were stiff from how cold it was out here. I guessed it was a good forty-seven degrees, but I didn't think too much on it; I never had so why start now? I wrinkled my nose and reached down, rubbing my feet. I stared at my skin, marveling at how pretty it looked in the moonlight. Normally it looked too pale for its own good, but out here in the moonlight it looked like a white creamy color. Absolutely gorgeous if you asked me.

I let a soft sigh pass through my parted lips, not bothering to turn around hearing the familiar light footsteps across the roof. I already knew who it was, and I always wondered why he couldn't just let me stay up here on my own sometimes. He must've guessed something was wrong, I always came up here when there was something on my mind. I never could stay in my room when things were bothering me, and he knew it.

I glanced over, watching the former taichou of the fifth division sit beside me. He didn't look at me for minutes, only stared up at the stars. His short cut blonde hair moved crazily in the wind, just like my own hair was doing at the moment. I looked back towards the stars, mentally cheering for myself when I found all sorts of different constellations. The wind finally stopped, my hair fell all around me like a halo. My bangs fell slightly infront of my eyes, but I didn't push them away. That's just how I was, too lazy to move my own hair out of my eyes.

"Kaori, what're ya doin' out here again?" Shinji finally asked, my olive green eyes locked with his grey ones. I shrugged in response, looking back towards the stars.

"Thinking." I said nonchalantly, I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye.

"What's botherin' ya?" he asked.

He always knew, I didn't understand how but he just did. I always managed to hide it from everyone now, including my brother, but Shinji was a different story. He always could see through my lies, but he never said anything around anyone. He always waited until we were alone to talk to me about it. After years of putting up with me, I would've thought he'd get tired of it. He hadn't though, and I thanked him for that. I loved how he was always there for me, sure he was a pain in the ass but weren't we all at times?

"I'm scared." I said softly. He finally turned his head in my direction, and our eyes locked with each other's. He scooted closer to me, still staring into my eyes, and put his hand against my cheek. I smiled at the warmth of his hand and leaned my cheek into the palm of his hand. "I think…he's getting stronger." He nodded, understanding what I was talking about.

"I know it's hard Kaori, we've lasted this long though. I know he'll never be able ta over-power ya." he said, I smiled a little at the support.

I always could count on Shinji for support, even when I didn't really want it from anyone else, I'd accept it from him. We all had our inner Hollows screaming at us, trying to fight their way through our strength, trying to break us down all the time. Shinji had always been the strongest out of us, supporting everyone while taking care of himself as well. Everyone didn't really acknowledged the support, telling themselves that they got through it on their own, but they were wrong. Shinji was the real reason we'd survived like this, and I suppose I was the only one grownup enough to admit it. He was our leader, no one would admit that either. Kensei seemed more like a leader, with his strong muscles and all, but he wasn't. I knew he wouldn't have been able to support everyone the way Shinji had, and again…I was the only one that seemed to acknowledge it.

"Arigato Shinji." I said, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear.

He nodded, giving me one of his rare serious looks. It was more common with me though, he wasn't really all that serious around everyone else; I was an entirely different case though. Shinji had always been able to be this serious with me, even back when we were in Soul Society together. Nothing had really changed between the two of us besides getting far more emotionally closer. I giggled to myself when he put his arm around my waist, pulling my back against his chest. Ok, emotionally _and _physically. I smiled to myself, leaning against him, and he moved my hair over my left shoulder. My smile widened feeling his lips against my neck and I turned, pressing my lips against his cheek. He chuckled, playing with a strand of my hair as we stared up at the stars together.

"His reiatsu is crazy." Shinji mumbled against my ear. I nodded in agreement, rubbing my hands up and down my bare legs.

"What's going on with him and his little gang anyway?" I asked, feeling rather melancholy at the moment

"Kisuke mentioned somethin' about these creatures called Bounts." Shinji replied, I looked at him curiously. Bounts?

"What're they trying to do?" I asked interested, tying my hair with the ribbon around my wrist.

"Break inta Soul Society usin' the powers of a Quincy." Shinji replied, setting his chin on my shoulder "They're wantin' revenge or somethin' of the sort." I chewed on my lower lip, wondering how this battle would turn out.

"You think they'll manage to?" I asked, he shrugged.

"This kid's reiatsu…it seems ta be increasin' everyday." he told me "If it's goin' like this, I'm pretty sure the Bounts won't succeed; he's strong." I clicked my tongue, thinking a little about this Kurosaki Ichigo guy.

"When we gonna recruit him?" I asked curiously "Surely not while these Bount things are running around all over the place." I looked towards him to find him shaking his head.

"Nah, we'll wait a lil while longer. Study his reiatsu a bit more." I nodded, playing with a few strands of his blonde hair. He grinned at me, kissing my forehead. "Don't look so down love. We'll be gettin' back at Aizen during the winter battle." I glanced up through my lashes, finding his eyes.

"We've waited so long." I whispered "I'm tired of waiting." His grin slid off his face, and he leaned his forehead against mine. He stared straight into my eyes, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

"Kaori, it's just a lil while longer. We'll get our revenge." he said seriously. I nodded, absentmindedly licking my dry lips.

"I know." I said quietly. He smiled one of those sincere smiles I was so used to and gently pressed his lips against mine. I shivered, feeling the wind against my skin, and pulled Shinji closer for warmth. He smiled against my lips before breaking the kiss.

"C'mon. Let's get inside for ya freeze ta death." he said with a playful tone, I glared slightly.

"Oh like you wouldn't freeze to death?" I teased, he laughed helping me to my feet. God they were freezing. My hair fell down my back to the very top of my hips, I pulled the ribbon out of my hair, knowing it would end up being blown away by the wind.

"Course not my little love." he said sarcastically. I stood on my tiptoes, flicking his forehead before I walked across the roof. Damn him and being over half a head taller than me.

He came up behind me, casually slipping his arm around my waist. I smiled slightly, swinging back into the warehouse. Shinji followed me in, taking my hand and leading me back to his room. We slipped inside his room as quietly as we could, making sure not to wake everyone, and got under the covers of his bed. I smiled, laying my head on his chest. He put an arm around me, keeping me close to him and the other behind his head. I snuggled into the warmth of his body, closing my eyes. Somehow I'd managed to stay happy after this catastrophe, perhaps it was just because of Shinji. Perhaps it wasn't. I didn't really know, just thinking back at everything…it seemed like everything concerning my past in Soul Society had all been some wonderful dream.

* * *

_**The pendulum swings back.**_

_**The story barreling towards the future will stop for an instant, so that we may peer into the past. **_

_**Though it was only the briefest of moments, its effects were wide-spread and long-lasting.**_

* * *

"Otoribashi-taichou?"

I glanced up hearing the voice of my fukutaichou and motioned him closer with my index finger. He entered the office bowing his head in respect, sliding the door shut behind him, and crossed the floor of my office. He stopped infront of my desk, handing me a report seconds later. I flipped through the report boredly, not really taking in what I was reading. I didn't have time to read this thing…or the patience.

"What's it about again?" I asked impatiently, just throwing the report on my desk.

"Ano…all the weird activity going on in Rukongai district sixteen-" he rambled, I waved my hand.

"Well that's boring." I said, scratching my head. "I'm not reading it then."

"Demo taichou!" he exclaimed. I raised an eyebrow, immediately shutting him up.

I flipped my green side bangs out of my eyes, pulling my slightly below shoulder length hair out of the low ponytail. I shook my hair around, giving it a slightly messy look to it. My layers needed to be re-cut though, they were getting too long to even look like layers anymore. I ran my hand down my face tiredly, I was getting sick of all this paperwork. Having a newly appointed fukutaichou required that I did most of it though, he was still new to his job so I basically had to do everything until he started getting in the swing of things. I played with my necklace boredly, Shinji was the one that had bought if for me. The necklace was rather gorgeous, I wore it everyday. It had a silver chain and the charm was a silver spider web with a black spider on it. I focused my thoughts away from my necklace, trying to think of something for the kid to do. I needed some alone time right about now.

I glanced up, studying his black scene cut hair, bright blue eyes, and thorn vines tattoo starting at his wrist and rapping his way up to his upper arm.. He was such an adorable kid, I couldn't get over how adorable my fukutaichou was. Even though I'd referred to him as a kid, he really wasn't. He was an adult, younger than me so I considered him a kid. He was taller than me too, the top of my head barely reached his shoulders. In a twisted way, it looked like he was my bodyguard when we were walking around together…weird. I knew for a fact that half the women in my squad were jealous I got to spend so much time with someone as sweet and nice as him. Well, I guessed that was their own fault for not being powerful enough to be a taichou. I scratched my head in thought and finally said

"Youta."

"Hai Otoribashi-taichou." he said immediately. I rolled my eyes, he really needed to lighten up though.

"Take the copy to Yamamoto-Soutaichou." I instructed, holding out the copy of the report he'd just given me.

"Hai taichou."

He took the copy from my fingers, bowed in respect, and bolted out of my office. I sighed to myself, propping my feet on my desk., and put my hands behind my head boredly. I closed my eyes, doing some serious daydreaming. Being a taichou was such hard work, I'd been doing this for a good ten years and everything about it still drove me crazy. I was hoping my brother was managing to survive and was doing a better job of it than I was. Speaking of my brother, I was having the feeling that something was bothering him. I knew immediately that it was the loss of his fukutaichou, Mikoto. Although he'd never admitted it to anyone, not even me, I knew he'd been in love with Mikoto. When she'd been killed in battle, I knew it was like a stab to his heart. I could feel his pain, just like it was my own.

Just so you know, I'm the younger sister of Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō; I'd called him Rose ever since I was a little girl though. Everyone seemed to call him that after I'd started, can someone say trend setter? We were actually twins, but I was the younger one by a good four minutes. There was this saying that twins had some sort of weird mental kind of connection, and Rose and I were no exception. I always knew when he was in battle, when he was hurting emotionally, even when he had something sneaky planned. In reverse, he knew all the same things about me. We were tighter than most siblings were, we'd never been jealous of each other. Even when I'd been promoted to taichou of the tenth division a good eight and a half years before him, he hadn't gotten jealous. That was the thing I loved about him, he was so carefree and laidback all the time. I knew he hadn't really wanted the position of taichou, but when he was nominated he didn't complain or get overly excited. He merely nodded, smiling a bit, and continued plucking on that accursed guitar of his. I never would understand why he loved that thing so much.

I smiled, thinking about Rose, and coughed hearing my door slide open.

"Don't even think about it Shinji." I opened one eye, looking at the blonde taichou standing in my doorway, and he groaned.

"Damn it, ya always catch me." he complained, I closed my eye giggling.

"After you scaring me the first thirty times, I've gotten used to you sneaking around." I stated in amusement.

"Ya can't let me have any fun, can ya?" he asked, sliding the door shut.

I pretended to ponder over his question for a moment and opened both my eyes to find him leaning forward against my desk. Did he love flirting with me or what? I raised an eyebrow, smirking a bit. I knew exactly how to handle this situation. After years of dealing with Shinji, I'd grown accustomed to his constant harassment. Weirdly enough, the idea that Rose was my older brother didn't bother him like most guys. That's the thing I liked about Shinji, he didn't care and would approach me nonetheless. Even though Rose and Shinji had been friends for years, it didn't bother Shinji in the least to hit on his friend's younger sister. Now if Yamamoto-Soutaichou had been my grandfather or something, that might've changed things.

"Nah." I replied shortly, he rolled his eyes. "Whacha doin' here anyway?"

He smirked, watching me remove my feet from ontop of my desk. I folded my arms across my chest, giving him a skeptical look. He moved his hand across the desk, pushing my side bangs out of my eyes. I forced myself not to blush, I didn't want him knowing how nervous he made me…especially since I didn't even understand it myself.

"Arigato, now why are you here?" I asked, slapping his hand away. He chuckled saying

"I'm surprised ya didn't smack my hand away sooner."

"Eh, I needed to move my bangs. I was too lazy to do it myself. You just saved me some energy." I stated, scratching the back of my neck boredly.

"Yeah? I think ya just liked me touchin' ya." he said, still grinning that same grin. I rolled my eyes at that, trying to seem not as obvious about how confused I was over him.

"Mhm, definitely. I love it when a womanizer touches me." I said, lacing my words with sarcasm. "Turns me on."

He clenched his jaw, not looking amused in the least. I sure was though, I loved getting him all upset like that. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That, and it made me feel more safe about my confused feelings towards him. I couldn't let him find out about how frustrating I found him. I never had understood why he made me all nervous and flustered. I just had to act like it didn't effect me, even after all the years of still not being able to figure it out. Liking him had crossed my mind a time or two, but I didn't really think much on that. Especially since I knew for a fact he didn't have those feelings towards me. He saw me as a little sister, and that was it. He just flirted with me because he did that to every female…well…except Hiyori that is.

"Yer such a bitch Kaori." he muttered, I nodded in agreement. There was a wide smirk plastered across my face.

"This isn't new information to me, I've known for years that I'm a bitch." I said, still smirking at him. He rolled his eyes, not surprised that I'd say something like that. "So what's up? You've avoided my question for a good five minutes, there has to be some reason you're here." A grin stretched back on his face.

"Ya never miss anything, do ya?" he asked, I shook my head still smirking a bit.

"I've known you for years, course not." I replied, looking down at my nails boredly.

"Alright, I'll let ya in on the secret." he said, my head snapped up from my nails.

"Secret?" I asked excitedly. "What secret? Tell me!"

He chuckled at my reaction, I got so excited over secrets. I didn't know why, but I always had. I loved knowing stuff that other people didn't know, it made me feel a little more superior I guessed. That…and I liked skipping around singing 'I know something you don't know.' That always managed to piss Hiyori off, but she'd never hit me. Her anger always directed itself towards Shinji…which made it even funnier to sing the song infront of her when he was around.

"Come on Shinji, spill your guts." I demanded, still bouncing around all excited. He rolled his eyes a bit.

"It's not _that_ kinda secret Kaori." he said seriously, I narrowed my eyes a bit.

"What's up?" I asked, being completely grownup for once.

He looked around my office, making sure there was no one outside the door, and looked back at me. I could tell by the way he was looking at me, how serious he was about this. Our eyes just some type of weird connection when he was being _this_ serious. It was rather rare for him to be so serious with everyone else, but he'd always been more serious towards me. We trusted each other, with some of our deepest thoughts and concerns. All in all I could say that I was the closest person to Shinji, and I was able to say it with complete and total honesty.

"It's about Sousuke." he said, I let out a sigh.

I loved Shinji to death, don't get me wrong, but him and this Aizen thing was really starting to get annoying. He'd been thinking Aizen was up to something for years, but he had yet to figure it out. I thought he couldn't figure it out because there was nothing _to _figure out, Aizen was a nice guy. A little creepy how he'd pop out of nowhere sometimes, but a nice guy other than that. With Shinji being who he was though, he wouldn't believe that. And with how great of friends we were, I'd listen to him ramble about Aizen. I'd throw my own opinions in the mix every now and again, but besides that I'd keep my mouth shut. Shinji was a smart man, and even though I didn't want to admit it…he might've been on to something. I'd support him until he was proven wrong though, that's just how I was.

"What about Aizen?" I asked, licking my lips.

"I think I've almost figured out what he's up to." Shinji said, I sighed to myself.

"Shinji, have you considered that maybe you're blowing this all out of proportion?" I asked, trying not to anger him.

"No." he exclaimed. "He's up ta somethin, I know it." I nodded, not wanting to really believe it.

"Shinji, you're an intelligent man. But have you ever stopped and wondered if you're over analyzing everything?" I asked, tilting my head a bit.

"Kaori, come on. He's a sneak, and he's up ta somethin. I don't know what yet…but I will." he said, looking me straight in the eyes. I gazed into his eyes for a moment, before finally nodding.

"Alright Shinji, whatever you say. He has seemed rather stalker creeper lately." I said, remembering when he popped out of nowhere when I was walking with my fukutaichou from just visiting Rose. "I think he's stalking me." Shinji rolled his eyes and said

"Who'd wanna stalk you?" I wrinkled my nose playfully, what an insult.

"Apparently you." I said, spinning around in my chair. "You're in my office every bloody day."

I made an eep noise when my Shinji grabbed the armrests of my chair, leaning over me, and looking straight in my eyes. I literally felt blood rushing to my cheeks for the first time in a while at how close he was, he normally never did something _this_ bold towards me. I stared into his eyes, feeling extremely flustered, and he finally smirked.

"Hehe, ya look rather cute when yer blushin' like his Kaori-_chan_." he cooed. I finally regained my bearings and managed to glare at him.

"Get outa my face Shinji." I warned.

"Aw, but I was just startin' ta have some fun." he complained, I glared again. He sighed, moving out of my face, but not before he planted a huge kiss on my forehead.

"Gah! Sexual harassment." I screamed, hiding my blood red face.

He let out a hearty laugh, taking my hands in his, moving them away from my face. I nervously looked up into his eyes, wondering how he could get a reaction like this from me of all people. Why did it have to be me? He chuckled, still staring into my eyes.

"Shinji?" I questioned, his grin widened. "Ya know, people might get the wrong idea if they saw this." He chuckled shrugging a bit.

"What's the wrong idea again Kaori?" he asked amused, I rolled my eyes.

"That we're together or something." I said, he moved his face closer. I eeped again, moving my head back. I bumped my head against my seat, letting out a small yelp of pain.

"Itai!" I exclaimed, he laughed at me.

"Well if ya wouldn't have moved-" he started.

"And let you sexually harass me again, I don't think so." I interrupted, managing to slip my hands out of his grip.

He rolled his eyes before straightening up and looked over towards the door to my office. I rubbed the back of my head, mumbling to myself, and adjusted my top since it was being rather troublesome at the moment. Oh by the way, my uniform was an original design of my own, I wore a black halter top with a white layer sewed under it. The bottom flared out a bit, since it was layered that is. My pants were designed the same way Yoruichi's were, and I had black with white outline ballet flats on. I liked being original…people didn't really seem to like it though. Who cared, not me. I heard the door open and looked up to see Youta hurry back in the room. He stopped, most likely thinking that me and Shinji were talking about some taichou stuff, and bowed.

"Gomen Otoribashi-taichou, I didn't know you were speaking with Hirako-taichou." he said quickly, looking extremely nervous. I smiled at my fukutaichou, shaking my head a bit.

"Lighten up Youta, no big deal." I said, still smiling. "He was just leaving, right Shinji?" Shinji looked at me with a look that said 'oh you little liar, I'm going to get you later for that' and nodded in agreement. He walked away from my desk, saying

"Yeah, it's no prob. See ya later Kaori."

I nodded, watching him walk out of my office before looking back at Youta. I couldn't believe he was still bowing. He really needed to lighten up, loosen up, take it easy, whatever you wanted to say that had to do with not being as serious.

"So, did Yamamoto-Soutaichou have anything to say?" I asked, waving my hand a bit.

I was tired of watching that kid bow, it was seriously getting on my nervous. He quickly stood straight, looking at me but avoiding my eyes at the same time. It started making me wonder if my eyes were that gross looking…or if I just looked mean person. I glanced over at my mirror on my desk, shaking my head to myself seeing my reflection. I didn't think I looked mean…I looked extremely nice if anything. Eh…oh well.

"Hai taichou, he said there would be a meeting with all taichou's tomorrow." Youta said, almost sounding like a robot.

I nodded, running my fingers through my hair boredly. Another taichou meeting, how fun…I hated those meetings. They were always so boring, I mean…yeah. Yamamoto-Soutaichou was awesome, but he always brought up some of the most boring shit. I'd barely be able to keep myself awake during them. I giggled to myself, remembering the one time I'd fallen asleep standing up. It'd been pretty funny until I fell face first on the floor, then it hadn't been so funny. Everyone else had laughed in amusement, but it hadn't been funny for me. My forehead had been sore for a good three days, and the headache I had afterwards wasn't fun dealing with. Also, that nice little scolding from Yamamoto-Soutaichou hadn't been pleasant to endure either. Then there was all the other taichous teasing me afterwards, every meeting now they always asked me if I was going to fall asleep again. Those assholes.

"Fukutaichous coming?" I finally asked, looking up from my mirror. He nodded, I flipped my bangs out of my eyes. "Alrighty." I said sighing. "This is gonna be fun."

"Taichou?" he said, I looked up curiously. "Ano…"

"Go on." I encouraged, he smiled slightly.

"Ayane told me of an incident when you were at a meeting." he said, still smiling. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what he was going to say. "Please don't fall asleep again." I laughed loudly, news sure traveled all over the place.

"Right…I'll try not to Youta." I said amused, he chuckled. "You'll just have to keep me awake or something I guess."

"I'll make sure I do." he promised, sounding like he wanted to laugh.

"Go ahead and laugh about it, I still do and I know everyone else does. You're no exception, so laugh damn it. It was funny." I said, trying to get him to lighten up.

He nodded, finally letting out a long, loud laugh. I giggled, happy that he was finally relaxing a little more around me, and I got around to grabbing some unfinished paperwork. I waited for him to calm down and motioned him to my desk. He stood beside me, still chucking a bit, and I felt a smile tug at my lips.

"Alright Youta, unfortunately we need to be serious now." I said, scratching my cheek absentmindedly. He nodded, looking down at the closed file. I opened up the paperwork, sighing to myself. "Alright, now you fill this part out like this."

So began the teaching of paperwork to my fukutaichou...for a good three hours; even better.

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**Author's Note: Alrighty, so I know a bunch of you have been waiting for this story since the preview appeared in the last chapter of **_His Real First Love _**so here it is. You all know my drill on new stories, so review or no update. I'm pretty sure you wanna know what happens, no? FIVE REVIEWS=UPDATE. Updates will be a little slower than you all remember, probably one a week since the chapters are so much longer than the ones for my other story.**

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_PREVIEW: CHAPTER TWO_

_"Holy shit! The meeting starts in five minutes, fuck!"_

_I jumped to my feet, grabbed my haori from where it had fallen in the floor earlier, and jerked my arms through the sleeves. I shunpoed to the door, jerking it open, and ran out of my office quickly closing the door behind me. I ran across Seireitei as fast as I could, using shunpo at random. It was too early though, and after just waking up I knew shunpo wouldn't want to cooperate with me. My white taichou's haori flying all around me as I ran, I needed to speed things up._

_"Ohayou Otoribashi-Taichou." someone said._

_"Ohayou." I said, still running._

_"Ohayou Otoribashi-Taichou." another person said._

_"Ohayou." I repeated, running around a corner._

_"Running late again, Otoribashi-Taichou?" someone asked._

_"Shut it." I snapped, still running. Stupid people feeling the need to mock me, why was it always me?_

_"Ohayou Taichou." another voice said._

_"Yeah yeah." I said, getting slightly annoyed with all these lame ohayous. This was not starting out to be a good day for me, so why did people have to act like it was starting out perfect?_


	3. Chapter Two: Daily Life

I groaned, moving my head up from my desk. I looked around, slightly dazed as to what was going on around me. I blinked a few times, trying to clear up my vision. What time was it, where the fuck was Youta, and why the hell wasn't this paperwork finished? I moved my head up from the desk, stretching my arms above my head. I felt so stiff, had I fallen asleep at my desk last night or something? Or had I just gotten here really early and fallen asleep at my desk? Eh, I didn't think too much on it. Either way, I'd fallen asleep at my desk so it really didn't matter when I'd gotten here. Wait…time…what time was it? I looked over towards my clock and fell out of my chair in shock.

"Holy shit! The meeting starts in five minutes, fuck!"

I jumped to my feet, grabbed my haori from where it had fallen in the floor earlier, and jerked my arms through the sleeves. I shunpoed to the door, jerking it open, and ran out of my office quickly closing the door behind me. I ran across Seireitei as fast as I could, using shunpo at random. It was too early though, and after just waking up I knew shunpo wouldn't want to cooperate with me. My body just wasn't fully awake like my brain was. I made it to the first division, looking up towards the top of the doors. Dang, they were so high up.

"OI! Open up the damn doors. Otoribashi Kaori, Taichou of the tenth division down here! SOMEONE OPEN UP!" I screamed angrily.

The doors finally opened after a long thirty seconds, leaving me to slip inside. I had no idea how much time I had left to get to the meeting, but I had to hurry. I slipped through the doors, running. I ran faster I needed to get there fast…curse me and loving to sleep. I used shunpo again, moving as fast as I could. If I was late one more time I'd be screwed into the ground, for sure. I sighed frustrated, finally coming across the sign in roster thingy and stood on my tiptoes, putting up my wooden block. I never did understand this thing, or why we even had to have it. What was up with Yamamoto-Soutaichou and making us use this thing for every single freaking meeting?

I looked around, groaning to see that the only other person not present was Kenpachi. He never showed up at these stupid meetings, why wasn't I surprised at that? I gulped, hoping I'd be able to make it there in time, and dashed down the hallway. My white taichou's haori flying all around me as I ran, I needed to speed things up.

"Ohayou Otoribashi-Taichou." someone said.

"Ohayou." I said, still running.

"Ohayou Otoribashi-Taichou." another person said.

"Ohayou." I repeated, running around a corner.

"Running late again, Otoribashi-Taichou?" someone asked.

"Shut it." I snapped, still running. Stupid people feeling the need to mock me, why was it always me?

"Ohayou Taichou." another voice said.

"Yeah yeah." I said, getting slightly annoyed with all these lame ohayous. This was not starting out to be a good day for me, so why did people have to act like it was starting out perfect?

"Ohayou-"

"God damn it, I don't wanna hear your stupid greeting." I snapped, jumping over the person.

I had no idea why I'd even jumped over him when I could've just went around him. I guessed that I just wanted to scare him shitless since I was pissed beyond the point of no return about this annoying taichou meeting.

Damn it, I couldn't be late. Yamamoto-Soutaichou would roast my ass alive. That was not a good thing, especially since I'd been late to the past five meetings. I really didn't want to endure another of his long ass speeches about punctuality and all that other bullshit. I needed to get to those frickin' doors already, why was this hallway so long in the first place? I let out a sigh of relief, seeing the huge doors finally come into view, and bolted down the hallway as fast as my legs would carry me. I skid to a stop infront of the doors, my green hair flying all around me, and quickly pulled them open. All heads turned in my direction, everyone was already lined up. Perfect, this was just plain perfect. Thankfully for me, Yamamoto-Soutaichou had yet to arrive. No boring speech on punctuality, score for me.

I bowed my head tiredly, taking a slow deep breath, and trudged into the room. I passed a few of the male taichous who were chuckling to themselves in amusement, why couldn't they give me a break for once?

"Late again Kaori?" Kyōraku asked, looking amused.

I glared slightly, finding my place infront of my fukutaichou, between Shinji and Love. What was he getting at? That asshole was usually one of the last people to arrive at these meetings…besides myself of course. I wondered how Lisa had managed to wake him up this morning, it always was a bother for her.

"Shut it Shunsui." I mumbled, still out of breath. "Yamamoto-Soutaichou isn't here yet. Therefore, I'm not late." He laughed in amusement, I resisted the urge to glare at him.

"You're quiet the lucky one then." he pointed out, sounding amused.

"Yeah yeah, shut yer trap." I grumbled annoyed. He just loved to tease me.

I leaned over slightly, my hands on my knees. God that run had killed me, it didn't seem like the oxygen could get to my lungs quickly enough. I felt hand rubbing my back, and my eyes flicked to Shinji. He was smirking, amused that I'd almost wound up being late again. Everyone here was acting like a bunch of assholes…everyone except Unohana. She was a total sweetheart, and I loved her to death. She was one of the only people that wouldn't make fun of me for being late. Her and Kuchiki that is. He was such a stuck up noble though, that nothing managed to amuse him. I glanced around the room, looking at all the faces. I wanted to know exactly _who_ was laughing at my entrance.

Of course Kyoraku was laughing at me, he just couldn't stop. Teasing me was something he rather enjoyed since I had been his fukutaichou before I was promoted to taichou. Lisa didn't look all that amused though, thank god I had someone besides Unohana's support. Urahara, why wasn't I surprised at him laughing over there with Hiyori? Yoruichi, her laugh might've just been the loudest. Love was laughing beside me, that bastard. Kensei looked rather serious though, I mentally applauded him for his professionalism. Mashiro was going in one of her little giggle fits. Ukitake looked amused, and he was chuckling a bit. I thanked him for not being _as _mean as the others. Kaien, he'd been laughing since I entered the room; the jerk. Rose looked amused with me, as usual, but he wasn't laughing. Yay for me, I loved my twin.

Then there was Shinji, chuckling as usual from beside me. I ignored his hand that had yet to cease from rubbing my back and finally managed to stand straight. I ruffled my hair slightly, making it look a little messier than it already was. I looked at Shinji, he was still rubbing my fucking back. Him touching me was making me nervous about my feelings towards him…again. I glared at him and attained the energy to smack Shinji's hand away.

"Itai." he whined, rubbing his hand. "God Kaori-chan, yer so mean." I stuck my tongue out childishly.

"Well stop touching me, and I wont hafta be 'mean' to you." I said, making a bunch of lovely air quotations when I said the word mean. He rolled his eyes at me, I wrinkled my nose annoyed.

"Gonna fall asleep again Kaori?" I looked away from Shinji towards Love, he was still laughing at me.

"Shut your fucking mouth Love." I snapped angrily. "I just got through sleeping, arigato gosaimasu. I don't need anymore." He laughed harder, and I looked away from him back towards Youta. He better be ready for a scolding, cause I was sure as hell going to give him one. "You are officially screwed." I said, sounding extremely dangerous. He shrunk back a bit, terrified of what I was capable of doing to him and mumbled

"Ano-"

"You didn't wake me up you ass." I snapped angrily, interrupting him. He cringed, man I was being snippety today. He deserved it though, he had almost made me late…again.

"Taichou, I apologize." he said quickly, sounding extremely nervous. "Demo-"

"Demo my ass." I interrupted again.

I stared up at him, right in his eyes. He looked like he was about to piss his pants, I loved being able to be this intimidating when I needed to. People were scared for their lives when I got like this…except Shinji. Damn him and not finding me intimidating. It was most likely all that time he spent getting beat up by Hiyori, I'd probably never know.

"You were mad at me last time I woke you up though." he exclaimed, jerking his hands infront of his face protectively.

I made an 'oh' face and tilted my head to the side, immediately feeling bad for scaring the kid like this. I'd completely forgotten about how angry I'd gotten the last time he woke me up, he must've just not wanted to see me like that again. No wonder he was always afraid to look my in the eyes and loosen up around me.

"Oh Youta, gomen. I'm sorry for being such a bitch." I said, feeling awful.

"Sheesh Kaori, be a little nicer to your subordinates. Would ya?"

"Shut it Love." I snapped angrily, he chuckled amused.

I put half my face in my hand. Damn my head was seriously throbbing. I glanced up to see Aizen standing behind Shinji, when had he got here? I shrugged off the thought, knowing he'd mostly likely just been his quiet sneaky self, not drawing attention to himself…as usual. I patted Youta shoulder, trying to let him know how sorry I was, and turned to face the front hearing the doors open.

"It's ok taichou." I heard him mumble behind me. I smiled slightly, happy that he'd accepted my apology.

I put a serious expression on my face, knowing this was the time to be professional. Yamamoto-Soutaichou walked in, going down the row without looking at any of us. Sasakibe Chōjirō, his fukutaichou, closely followed by him. Chojiro stood behind Yamamoto-Soutaichou, and Yamamoto clicked his cane against the floor.

'And the meeting has officially begun.'

* * *

_**The pendulum swings forward. **_

_**The story rewinding backwards to the past will pause for an instant, so that we may take a look back into the future. **_

_**The decisions made during the present, will greatly affect future events.**_

* * *

I growled, feeling the covers being pulled at. He just had to interrupt my sleep, that good for nothing lowlife. I didn't open my eyes as I grabbed the sheets on my side and held onto them, intent on not letting them go for anything. I growled again, feeling another tug at the sheets; he was so dead. I let out a sigh, licking my dry lips absentmindedly. I felt my grip on the covers loosening as I began drifting back into unconsciousness, then they were ripped from my hands. Cold air hit my body, chilling me from head to toe. I was not amused by this, not amused in the least. I opened my eyes to find myself facing the wall. I turned towards Shinji, laying on his stomach. He was in such a deep sleep, he didn't have a clue what was going on out here…or how fucking cold it was to those of us that were conscious. How the heck had he managed to get _all _the flippen covers? I huffed angrily, trying to pry some of the covers away from him…it wasn't happening.

'Fine, you wanna play that way? Then let the games begin.'

I sat up, rubbing my arms, and looked down at my prey. His blonde hair looked so messy, it was all over the place. Mine most likely didn't look much better than his, but I wasn't going to ruin my fun of insulting him. A smirk found its way onto my face as I scooted closer to Shinji. I wiggled my fingers and shoved him off the bed.

"Ah!" Shinji exclaimed in shock.

I giggled hearing the loud thump of his body hitting the floor and looked over the side of the bed at him lying in the floor, face first. This was the greatest. I delicately reached over the side of the bed, bringing the blankets off the floor. I covered myself with the blankets, smiling at the warmth of them. I was feeling so good right now, warm on the outside as well as the inside. Shinji finally managed to roll over on his back, he was looking up at me with the most pissed off look.

"Kaori what the hell?!" he asked loudly.

Oh yeah, it was inevitable; he was extremely pissed off. I shrugged at him, falling back against the pillows. They smelled extra yummy this morning, did he change his cologne or something?

"You were hogging the blankets, I had to stop it somehow." I replied casually, smelling one of the pillows; extra yummy indeed.

"And ya had ta push me off the bed?" he asked, sounding un-amused.

"It was the only way." I said dramatically, giving a long sigh afterwards.

I cuddled into the warmth of the blankets, cautiously watching the side of the bed. I saw a hand, then another, finally Shinji's face popped up. He didn't look very happy with me, but hey. It wasn't my fault he didn't know how to share, sharing was caring after all. Shinji drug himself back into the bed, dropping down next to me. I giggled, holding the blankets up to my face, covering everything below my eyes. I had a feeling I looked pretty childish right about now, but cute as ever...since I was just that adorable. Shinji's eyes found mine, he still looked rather angry.

"You pushed me off the fuckin' bed fer a bunch of blankets?" he asked slowly, I nodded in confirmation.

"It's cold." I complained softly, his grey eyes narrowed.

"Yer dead."

I eeped when he tackled me, still holding the blankets up to my face. He ripped the blankets off, pinning my hands above my head…and it only took a few seconds. He _had _to be pissed. I felt my cheeks going hot, the way he was looking at me was so intense. So much more intense than normal, was he _that _pissed off at me. Or…was it something else? I swallowed, still staring up into his eyes. What was going on in that head of his? He leaned forward slightly, using his weight as leverage for keeping my hands pinned down and he switched to holding both my wrists with one hand. Fuck, what was he thinking?

"Shinji?" I questioned, for the first time in a while my voice sounded rather innocent.

He stopped thinking about whatever he was planning to do to me upon hearing the innocence in my voice and tilted his head to the side, looking at me from a different angle. I stared up into his eyes, holding his gaze for what seemed like a never ending amount of time. It felt like, time had just suddenly stopped for the both of us. He reached up to my face, moving his fingers across my cheek. His fingers ran down my cheek, around my jaw line to my lips. He lightly ran his fingers over my parted lips, and I gently pressed them against his fingertips. He watched me kiss his fingertips again before he moved his hand down, cupping my cheek. His lips crashed against mine, there was such a fiery raw passion there. Something needed to be done about this, and I knew just what to do.

I moved my lips against his with just as much aggression, moaning when I felt his tongue rubbing against my own. God that tongue ring was amazing, maybe I needed to get snakebite piercings or something…it'd make us even. He chuckled at my reaction, moving his hands from my cheek down my side. I squirmed under him, he barely touched me and he could get me to feel this way; I'd never understand any of this. I groaned softly, feeling him press his body harder against mine, his fingers lightly running over the bare skin of my lower stomach.

"Shinji." I murmured quietly.

He chuckled again before he started planting all sorts of butterfly kisses down my neck. I arched my back feeling him bite down on that sensitive spot on my neck and groaned again. This was such an amazing feeling, I hated the idea of it all just stopping. I ripped my hands out of his grip, grabbed onto the front of his shirt, and pulled his lips back against mine. I nibbled on his lower lip, brushing my fingertips lightly down his neck. He moaned softly, moving his hand further up my shirt. Now that wasn't right in the least, why didn't I get to have a little more fun?

'Time to change spots.'

I flipped Shinji onto his back, straddling his waist. I leaned forward, kissing and lightly biting on his neck. He groaned, grabbing a handful of my hair. I guessed he liked the feel of what I was doing, what man wouldn't? I was just _that_ good. I smirked, running my tongue up his neck to his ear, nibbling on his earlobe.

"God Kaori." he gasped. "Fuckin' tease."

"Nah." I breathed against his ear.

He growled, turning over to where I was pressed back between the mattress and his body. He roughly pressed his lips back against mine, latching onto my green hair. I bit down on his tongue feeling it enter my mouth, and he immediately pulled his lips back from mine. I hoped I hadn't hurt him, that wouldn't have been a good thing…well then again…it could be since he liked his sex with pain.

"That's it. I can't take this, ya god damn tease." he stated fiercely.

He grabbed the top of my shirt and _literally _ripped it off. He threw the shirt to the side, kissing his way day my neck. I wiggled underneath him, feeling so lightheaded. I arched my back moaning, feeling him bite down on my collarbone and grabbed fistfuls of the red sheets under me. He ran his hand lightly down my back, kissing the top of my breast. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest in pure excitement, it'd been a while since he'd been this aggressive towards me. I felt his fingers hook under the back of my bra, of course there just _had _to be a knock at the door. Shinji pulled away from my skin, looking over his shoulder.

"Nani?" he shouted, sounding extremely annoyed. I didn't blame him, the mood had just been ruined.

"Breakfast is ready." Mashiro said from the outside. "Is Kaori-chan with you, she's not in her room."

"Where else would she be?" Shinji asked, still not sounding pleased about this untimely interruption.

"So she's not with you?" she asked, sounding confused. I almost giggled seeing Shinji's eye twitch, _almost_ being the key word there.

"Hai, she's with me Mashiro." he replied, sounding completely pissed off.

"Ok." she said, turning back into her happy bouncy self. "See you guys at breakfast, Kensei cooked all sorts of yummy pancakes!"

I heard her giggle in happiness/excitement, and her footsteps disappeared after a moment or two. Shinji looked back down at me, staring into my green eyes. I sighed, putting my hands on his shoulders.

"Doll, it was amazing but the mood's dead." I said, not able to hide my disappointment. He nodded in agreement, running a hand through his hair boredly.

"I know, stupid Kensei finishin' breakfast already." he complained.

I giggled and leaned upward, kissing his cheek. He smiled at me, pressing his lips against my forehead, and climbed off me. He walked across his room to his dresser, brushing out the mess that was his hair. I sat up, my hair falling infront of my chest, and looked over the edge of the bed at my shirt. I grabbed the shirt and examined it from all angles, it was completely ruined. I'd never be able to wear this thing again, another shirt…wasted.

"Shinji?" He put his hairbrush down, turning to face me. "I need a shirt." He smirked, shunpoing across the room back to me. He leaned in close to me, lightly brushing fingers through my hair.

"Ya sure?" he asked teasingly. "Ya look pretty sexy without one." I rolled my eyes.

"My brother won't think so." I stated, he hung his head.

"Fine, since I don't want Rose killen me." he said grudgingly.

He quickly kissed my lips before heading to his closet, going through some of the clothes. He finally pulled out one of his white long-sleeved button-up shirts, tossing it to me. I giggled, putting my arms through the _way_ too big sleeves, and turned the collar down. I buttoned all the buttons in the middle, still showing off a little bit of my cleavage and the area around my stomach. I stood up giggling, realizing it almost reached the bottom of my shorts. Only a little bit of the yellow was visible now. I readjusted the buttons, making sure I looked like a messy piece of perfection, before I moved my eyes to Shinji.

"Brush?" I asked, he tossed it to me.

I ran the brush through my straight, layered green hair for a good couple of minutes, getting all the tangles out, before pushing my hair infront of my chest. I tossed the brush back to Shinji and turned on my heel, walking towards the door. I smiled a bit feeling his arm go around my waist, and we walked out of his room, down the hall of the upper level of the warehouse. We went down the stairs into our so-called "dining room" to find the whole family sitting there, munching on their pancakes quietly. If you didn't count Kensei yelling about Mashiro's constant whining, _or_ Rose complaining about how Love ruined the ending of yet _another_ manga, _or_ Hiyori yelling about something or another, _or_ Lisa's complaining about wanting peace and quiet so she could read, _or_ Hachigen who was trying to be the adult in all this and telling everyone just to calm down like he always did.

"C'mon guys, not this early." I whined, resisting the urge to cover my ears.

"What've you two been up ta?" Hiyori asked, looking suspicious. She eyed Shinji's shirt that I was wearing, and I rolled my eyes.

"Isn't it obvious, he raped me!" I shrieked, running to the chocolate chip pancakes. "Ooo, these look so yummy Kensei."

"Arigato Kaori." Kensei said, finally discontinuing his argument with Mashiro. I grabbed a good three pancakes and plopped down beside my brother.

"You shouldn't accuse people of things as serious as rape blindly, Kaori." Rose said, grinning a bit. I smiled in amusement, poking his cheek.

"It was rape!" I exclaimed outlandishly, reaching for the syrup. "I'm tellin ya, he's quite the terrifying person."

"Ya liked it." Shinji whispered in my ear with a seductive tone, and then I was turned on again…great.

I grumbled, not happy in the least about how sexy yummy he was, and drowned my pancakes in syrup. I chuckled to myself, glancing over at Shinji, and passed him the syrup. He rolled his eyes at all the sugar on my plate and went to fixing his own pancakes. I danced around in my seat a bit, cutting up my pancakes, and finally shoved a fork full into my mouth. I moaned in pure food orgasm and looked up to see everyone's eyes glued to me.

"Nani?" I asked, shrugging a bit. "Kensei's cooking is orgasmic." Lisa sighed, going back to her book.

"Of course you relate sexual things towards food." she mumbled, I nodded in agreement.

"Duh! The food _is_ orgasmic." I said, putting emphasis on every word. Lisa sighed, turning a page of her book.

I looked over seeing Hiyori aim a punch straight for Shinji's face and reached up, catching it. Shinji looked from Hiyori to me with a grin plastered on his face, he always loved it when I defended him from her abuse. Hiyori's face went from a confident smirk to an annoyed grumpy look. She hated when I stopped her from physically abusing him.

"Gomen Hiyori, I can't have his face mangled today just yet." I apologized with a sarcastic tone.

"Why the hell not?" she snapped, jerking her fist out of my grip. I rolled my eyes, plopping back down in my seat. I took a bite of my pancakes saying

"He raped me, I need ta get him back for it." Hiyori chuckled, nodding.

"Fine, I get him after that." I took a drink of my milk, nodding in agreement.

"Kay."

I glanced at Shinji to find him rolling his eyes, of course he didn't like that arrangement. He would've rather me just taken revenge for my "rape" thing _all_ day, than letting Hiyori hit him upside the face with one of her sandals or whatever for _half_ the day. I snacked a little more on my pancakes, listening to Kensei talk about today's training. The training schedule had always been in his charge. No one would've done a better job than Kensei on it anyway, so we left it to him to decide how training would go daily.

"So mainly, what we'll do today is switch around from the normal partner to partner regiment." he was saying.

"Kensei! What're you talking about?!" Mashiro interrupted, with that whiny voice of hers.

"Damn it Mashiro, I'm getting to that." Kensei snapped at his former fukutaichou. "If you'd stop interrupting for once-"

"Waahaa! Kensei's a meany!" Mashiro whined, flailing her arms around. She was starting to throw one of her _famous_ tantrums again.

"Mashiro." Kensei warned, sounding angry. I sighed, shaking my head. "Someone get her to shut up!"

"Mashiro-chan, please calm down." Hachigen asked of her.

"Kensei's such a meany!" she repeated.

A few more seconds, and she'd be rolling around on the floor throwing a tantrum like a little kid. I knew the only thing that could help. I reached across the table, smacking Kensei upside the head. With a wink I said

"God Kensei, why the hell're you upsetting Mashiro so much? You're such a jerk!" Mashiro stopped with her tantrum and smiled at me for "defending" her.

"Arigato Kaori-chan, see Kensei. I'm right." she said, going back to munching on her pancakes. Kensei rolled his eyes, mentally thanking me, and continued with what he was saying before.

"Hachigen, we'll especially need barriers around the place. A ton of barriers." he said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Hai." the giant said, nodding a bit.

"What we'll be doing, is attacking each other as a group." Kensei said, grabbing everyone's attention.

"How so?" Rose asked from beside me, I took a big bite of my pancakes still listening. Why didn't this speech sound familiar?

"We'll alternate between people, one person will avoid the lot of us from attacking them for as long as possible. We will all be using our Hollow masks, besides the person avoiding us." Kensei said, my eyes widened in shock.

"Nani?" I asked, almost choking on my milk. "You want us being attacked by seven people at a time, all of them using their Hollow masks, and we don't get to? Then there's our Zanpakuto Kensei, ever think about how much more powerful it becomes when we have our Hollow masks? Or what about our bad ass Ceros and Balas, huh? Are you _trying_ to kill everyone off or what?"

"I've taken all that into consideration Kaori, no need to jump done my friggen throat." Kensei said, raising up a hand to tell me to calm myself down. I grumbled, slightly annoyed. "The group of seven will not be using their Zanpakuto, Ceros and Balas only." I crossed my arms stubbornly, I didn't like this new training thing he wanted to try.

"I think it'll be a good experience." Shinji said nodding a bit. I made myself a mental note, reminding me to strangle him later. What Shinji said, always went. That's how it'd been for years. "Now, then." Everyone turned their attention to Shinji hearing how serious he sounded. "There's these things called Bounts..."

Oh how he loved to keep us updated.

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, so there's chapter two of my oh so amazing ShinjiXOC story. Haha, sorry about the little conceited moment right there. Now I'm going to go ahead and warn you lot reading this ahead of time about the chapters in the future. Starting next chapter there will be a _bunch _of sexual situations and such. Just thought I'd give you guys a head's up. Remember my policy? You know, the one about reviewing? Well, here it is. Review or no new chapter. FIVE REVIEWS= NEW CHAPTER!**

* * *

_PREVIEW: CHAPTER THREE_

_I giggled to myself knowing exactly where he was and hopped up onto the roof. Kyōraku tilted his straw hat up a bit hearing my footsteps on the roof and grinned._

_"Kaori-chan, so glad you could make it." he said, lowering his hat._

_I rolled my eyes and sat down next to my former taichou. The wind lightly brushed against my face, moving my hair around slightly. I smiled a bit, watching the colors streaking across the sky from the just now starting sunset._

_"Eh, we haven't talked in a while so I had to show up." I told him, putting my hands back behind me and leaning back on them. "Besides, the constant making fun of me doesn't count as talking."_

_"Now Kaori-chan, you know you were my favorite fukutaichou." he said, putting his hands behind his head._

_"You might not want to say that too loudly." I suggested, lightly chewing on the inside of my jaw. "Lisa would get angry if she heard that."_

_"Lisa-chan is currently doing paperwork, she won't hear anything." Kyoraku said._


	4. Chapter Three: Friendship

I groaned, falling face first onto Shinji's bed. I buried my face in the pillow, inhaling his yummy smell, before I groaned again. I was so annoyed, my strength had definitely declined by _too_ much for my taste. I was feeling so tired, Kensei's training had been absolutely no fun today. He just _had _to decide he wanted to try a whole new training thing. It was just my luck that I'd been made to go first, I got to pretend to be the bunny while the rest of the group got to be the wolves. It was no fun, especially since they were at full strength when we first started. I received most of the damage out of everyone, all because they forced me to go first. It was not fair to me at all. Everyone else didn't have to endure running around, while seven people chased after them with _one-hundred _percent power and speed. Not to mention all those _lovely _Ceros and Balas flying at my face, they were also at full power as well mind you.

'Why'd I have to get the worst end of the deal? Huh!? Why is it always me?'

I felt Shinji sit down beside me on the bed and managed to pull half my face out of the pillow. I looked at Shinji tiredly and he grinned, a grin that made me want to slap it right off his face. He chuckled to himself, pulling my hair back into a loose ponytail for me, and said with a tone that pissed me off

"Aw, tired Kaori-chan?" I glared, half-heartedly slapping at his hand. I missed, my hand landing a few inches from his.

"Shut it asshole." I mumbled. He chuckled, tracing the back of my hand with his fingers. "You got the best part of the training, everyone was tired by the time your turn came around." His grin widened, and he shrugged nonchalantly. "Lucky." I muttered. He chuckled, bringing my hand up to his lips, kissing my knuckles.

"Isn't it a good thing fer you too, Kaori-chan?" he cooed, still smirking. I wiggled a bit, feeling him lightly run his fingers over the back of my thigh, and groaned in annoyance.

"I'm not in the mood for your shit." I spat, letting out a huge sigh afterwards.

I was both tired and grumpy, this was not a good combination. Especially since he was determined to annoy me, he was going to be messing with a _very_ vicious lioness any minute now. He rolled his eyes, scooting closer to me.

"Poor pet." he teased, running his fingers up my arm.

"Shinji you…"

I stopped, sighing to myself feeling his hands massaging my shoulders. This felt so good, he could do some pretty amazing things with those hands of his. I blushed at the thought, crossing my arms under my face, and laid my cheek against my forearms. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling. My muscles had felt so stiff after training, now they were actually starting to feel far more relaxed. He moved his hands from my shoulders, down my back slightly. I smiled, purring to myself in pleasure. If he stopped in an hour then it'd still be _way_ too soon, I was really enjoying this. I heard a low chuckle come from Shinji and opened my eyes, glancing over at him. He tilted his head to the side, grinning at me. My brain told me to roll my eyes, but my eyes just didn't want to respond. I didn't want to look all sarcastic towards him, he might stop with the massaging. Instead…I smiled slightly, closing my eyes in bliss. He really knew how to be all caring and gentle when he wanted. I felt his hands slip further down to my lower back, and I groaned softly. This felt _really _good.

"Does it feel good?" Shinji asked, sounding smug. I couldn't even make myself tell him to stop being an obnoxious bastard. My body was feeling so relaxed for the first time all day, I nodded in agreement.

"It feels nice." I whispered, still smiling to myself.

"Feelin' any better?" he inquired after a few seconds.

I forced myself to shrug at the question. It'd been especially hard since I didn't really want to move any of my muscles right now, relaxing after a long day of training was something I thoroughly enjoyed.

"Yeah." I said honestly, emptying my mind of all thoughts. Now I felt one-hundred percent relaxed. "Those hands of yours are amazing." He chuckled next to my ear, when had he moved this close to me without my noticing?

"Amazin' huh?" he asked sarcastically, moving his hands up my back to my shoulders.

I smiled slightly, feeling him resuming rubbing my shoulders. I was so lucky he hadn't grown tired of it, but I had a feeling why he hadn't stopped. He wanted something, and I knew exactly what it was because I was wanting the same thing. Maybe not as strongly as he was since I was feeling all relaxed at the moment, but I still wanted it. I mewled softly, feeling him placing kisses on the back of my neck, and somehow managed to keep my thoughts straight.

"Door." I said softly, referring to his door being wide open.

He breathed lightly on the back of my neck, placing another kiss there before he climbed off the bed. I almost pouted at the fact that he wasn't massaging my shoulders anymore, but I knew he _had_ to close the door. Maybe if I just didn't move I'd stay relaxed…for at least a few seconds. I heard him say something to someone, and he shut the door. He climbed back on the bed beside me, and I turned over to where I was lying on my side facing him. He slipped his arm around my waist, pulling my body close to his, and began kissing my neck again.

"Who were you talking to?" I asked, moaning when he bit down on my neck.

"Kensei." he mumbled, planting a kiss just below my jaw line. I placed my hand on the back of his neck, not wanting him to stop. "Told him not ta have anyone bother us 'bout dinner."

I couldn't even nod. The mood from this morning was coming back, and it seemed alot more intense than it had been. He was _too_ good, and it really annoyed me that he was getting to have all the fun again. I groaned, in both pain and pleasure when he bit down harder on my neck. I felt something warm trickle down my neck, but I couldn't make myself mad at Shinji. It felt so good right now.

"You made me bleed." I whined, gasping when I felt his tongue run up my neck. He chuckled, enjoying that he could make me feel like this.

"Aw poor Kaori-chan." he teased, kissing my neck again. I almost growled but forced myself not to, I was going to enjoy myself now. Yell at him later.

The second he pulled back from my skin, I crashed my lips against his. Keeping his lips connected with mine, he moved to straddling my waist, moving his hands over my clothed body. I moaned softly, knotting my fingers in his hair, and ran my tongue along the roof of his mouth. He groaned, moving his fingers to the buttons of my shirt. He impatiently began unbuttoning my shirt…the few that were buttoned that is, and slipped the shirt down my arms. I sat up, still kissing him, and removed my fingers from his hair to toss the shirt to the side. I gently bit down on his tongue, only slightly teasing him, I didn't want to rush things. They needed to be drawn out for once.

He groaned again, and I turned to where I was ontop this time. I leaned forward, pressing my lips against the side of his face, down his neck. I felt his fingers tracing my stomach, moving around to my sides. I wouldn't deny how good it felt, I _couldn't_ deny how good it felt. I bit down on his neck, harder than I first anticipated, and felt his body press up against mine. I was good, I was _so_ freakin' good. I giggled to myself, sucking on the spot I'd just bit down on.

"Aw, is someone growing impatient?" I teased, moving to nibbling on his earlobe.

"Damn it Kaori." he said, sounding pissed.

He grabbed onto my hair, roughly pulling my lips against his. I moaned softly as our tongues fought for dominance and moved my fingers to his shirt. I quickly took his tie off, throwing it aside without breaking the passionate kiss, and moved to getting all the damn buttons unbuttoned. I worked as quickly as I could, growing rather impatient myself. I moaned softly, feeling him nibbling on my lower lip, and he turned back over hovering over me. He threw his shirt to the side before moving to kissing my stomach. I groaned, arching my back slightly, feeling him moving upward to my abs. This felt so good.

Shinji finally moved up from kissing my stomach, back to my lips. I rubbed my tongue against his, moaning softly. I arched my back again, feeling his fingers rubbing through the material of my bra. He hadn't even gotten around to touching raw flesh, and he could still get me feeling this way.

"Shinji." I gasped, he chuckled kissing my neck.

"Enjoying yerself Kaori-chan?" he asked teasingly, nibbling on my neck.

I moaned in agreement, my cold fingers tracing all the lean muscles on his chest. He moved down my neck, biting down on my collarbone when he got there. I hissed slightly and pounced, pinning him down. I smirked seductively, kissing the base of his neck, moving my way down. I didn't look up at him as I kissed down his chest, I just wanted to feel him squirm under me. I almost chuckled to myself, running my tongue over one of his nipples. I felt him squirm, being dominate was a good feeling. I closed my lips around the pink bud, biting down. He let out a groan of pain and pleasure, now I definitely could tell he was turned on.

"God Kaori, yer such a tease today." he gasped.

He grabbed onto my hair, pulling my lips against his. I moaned slightly, playing with his tongue ring with my teeth. Shinji groaned, liking how aggressive I was being towards him, and grabbed my arms. He moved to where we were sitting up, still having a tongue war, and gently laid me back down against the pillows. Not having a pillow behind your head wasn't a very comfy way to have sex after all. I moaned again, loving the feel of how he was caressing my body, and felt his hand reach the waistband of my shorts. I arched my back a little, helping him, as he slid my shorts off my hips and heard another soft thud of the clothing hitting the floor. He pulled back from my lips, kissing my neck again, and lightly ran his fingers up my inner thighs. Now I was the one squirming, I was feeling so fucking aroused.

"Shinji." I murmured. "Please."

He chuckled against my neck, moving down to kiss the top of my breast. I groaned again, wondering why the hell I'd wanted to drag this out in the first place? Things needed to speed themselves up because this arousal was really starting to get to me. I opened my eyes, feeling him cease from kissing my skin, and smiled seeing his pants finally thrown to the floor.

"Took long enough." I mumbled. Shinji grinned, pressing his lips back against my own.

"It'll be worth it love." Shinji whispered, molding his lips with mine.

I moaned into his mouth, loving the way he was touching me. All the caressing and teasing was driving me crazy with want, I didn't think I could take much more of it. I leaned my head back on the pillows, enjoying the feeling of his kisses and love bites all over my skin, and finally felt his hand find its way around my back to my bra. He easily unhooked my bra, having done this a good number of times, throwing it to the side. Cold air hit my chest, goosebumps began forming all over my skin, not that I really noticed. I was too caught up in all passion and lust going on around me, to bother worrying about getting some chills. No big deal.

I groaned, loving the feel of his lips on my breasts, and cried out softly feeling him bite down on my nipple. He chuckled in amusement, loving all the reactions he was getting from me. He moved his lips back to mine, using his hands to gently squeeze and caress my breasts. I moaned loudly, not being able to contain myself, and tangled my fingers in his beautiful blonde hair. Our tongues were literally fighting with each other, I realized this was one of the most passionate kisses we'd shared in the world of the living. He moved his hands down my chest, before running his hands up and down my inner thighs. I arched my back pressing my chest against his, wanting the foreplay to be over with. I was done playing, I wanted him right fucking now…literally fucking.

"Shinji." I managed to gasp, breaking away from his lips. "I'm done with this, fuck me already."

He didn't smirk like I expected him to, he was feeling exactly the same way I was right now. I bit down on my lower lip, feeling two of his fingers enter me, ignoring the fact that I had no idea when he removed my panties, and resisted the urge to scream like I wanted to. I knew everyone was most likely getting sick of all the moaning and gasping, the screaming would definitely piss them off. I'd wait until the actual sex for that, then they wouldn't be able to stop us from screaming even if they wanted to. I bit down harder on my lip, gasping. He moved to kissing my neck again, stretching my insides with his fingers since we hadn't had sex in a good month, and whispered in my ear

"Kaori, yer too fuckin' beautiful fer yer own damn good." I gasped again when he bit down harder and kissed below his jaw line.

"Thanks for the compliment." I mumbled, moaning louder. "I love you Shinji." He moved away from my neck, gently pressing his lips against mine.

"I love you too Kaori." he said softly, I smiled slightly.

I loved hearing him say that to me, I was the only girl he said that about anymore. Used to, every girl he laid eyes on he was in love with. And he couldn't even stick with one girl that was his supposed "first love." In reality, that title belonged to me and all the Visoreds new that. None of them would admit it, but they all new it to be true. I was the first girl Shinji was ever truly in love with, and I would be the _only _girl he'd ever be in love with. The same went for me, only vice versa. I'd never actually been in love with anyone except Shinji, and I knew that there was no one out there that could take his place in my heart. No one could make me feel the way Shinji did.

I made a whimper of protest feeling Shinji remove his fingers, but the absence didn't last all that long. I groaned in ecstasy feeling him finally enter me, I felt so complete...so whole. This feeling was amazing, I always loved it when I was feeling like this. I was so excited and turned on, but I felt so loved and appreciated at the same time. Back in Soul Society, I'd never thought Shinji would be the type of guy that could be in a serious relationship with just one person, being with him for a good century had sure proved me wrong on that assumption.

* * *

_**The pendulum swings back. **_

_**The story barreling towards the future will stop for an instant, so that we may peer into the past. **_

_**Though it was only the briefest of moments, its effects were wide-spread and long-lasting.**_

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I looked around at all the new recruits standing in my office. Youta was standing by the door, waiting for me to give them a welcoming of some sort. I'd been dreading this day for a good week, and now it had finally come.

"So I'm Otoribashi Kaori, your taichou. Welcome to the tenth division…"

I stopped, scratching the back of my neck, not knowing what else to say. I had always been bad at introductions, welcomings, farewells…anything that had to do with making some type of boring speech. It just wasn't my calling, after a good sixteen years of making a bunch of these lame speeches I would've thought I'd have improved a little by now. Of course not, even Rose was better at making speeches than me.

"Ano…yeah. Have a nice day." I said, turning back to my paperwork. "Go introduce them to everyone Youta."

"Hai Otoribashi-Taichou." Youta said respectfully, with a bow. I didn't even have to look to know that he was bowing, he was such a respectful fukutaichou.

I sighed to myself hearing the door slide open, then shut, and looked up from my paperwork. I licked my lips, waiting a few seconds, and finally smiled in freedom. I quickly wrote a quick note to Youta, telling him where I'd be, and that I'd see him tomorrow morning. I stood up, spun around in a circle in excitement, and went to my window. I pushed the window open, swung my leg over the side, and plopped down on the ground.

"Itai." I mumbled, rubbing my bottom. "That hurt…stupid window."

I stood up, not happy about my now sore butt, and shut the window. I would've rather left it open, but it was rather windy around Seireitei today. Since I didn't want all my paperwork and reports flying all over the place, closing it was the best thing to do. I turned away from my window, shunpoing off the tenth division grounds. I smiled to myself and walked across Seireitei towards the eighth division. I smiled again, ruffling my hair a little bit, and entered the barracks. I walked around boredly, twirling a strand of my hair around a finger absentmindedly, and slid open the door to the taichou's office. I looked around, not surprised that he wasn't there, and quickly slid the door shut. I giggled to myself knowing exactly where he was and hopped up onto the roof. Kyōraku tilted his straw hat up a bit hearing my footsteps on the roof and grinned.

"Kaori-chan, so glad you could make it." he said, lowering his hat.

I rolled my eyes and sat down next to my former taichou. The wind lightly brushed against my face, moving my hair around slightly. I smiled a bit, watching the colors streaking across the sky from the just now starting sunset.

"Eh, we haven't talked in a while so I had to show up." I told him, putting my hands back behind me and leaning back on them. "Besides, the constant making fun of me doesn't count as talking." I raised an eyebrow at him, and he chuckled amused.

"Now Kaori-chan, you know you were my favorite fukutaichou." he said, putting his hands behind his head. I giggled, still marveling at how beautiful the sky looked at this time of day.

"You might not want to say that too loudly." I suggested, lightly chewing on the inside of my jaw. "Lisa would get angry if she heard that."

"Lisa-chan is currently doing paperwork, she won't hear anything." Kyoraku said, not sounding worried; I rolled my eyes.

"You say that now, when she finds out though you'll be scared for you're life." I stated, grabbing the sake bottle sitting next to him. I took a drink, putting it in his outstretched hand afterwards.

"Until then." he said, raising the bottle to his lips. I giggled, staring back up towards the clouds. "Never did tell ya how proud I am." I looked at him curiously, I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. "First person from my division to be made taichou." I smiled to myself, taking the bottle back from him.

"Arigato taichou, you're a bit late on the congratulations though." I said, pushing my side-bangs out of my eyes. He chuckled in amusement, saying

"You know how I am Kaori-chan, being my fukutaichou for three years."

I giggled in agreement, taking the straw hat off his head. He looked over at me as I placed the hat on my head, smiling as I did so. We'd always been good friends, even when I was his fukutaichou it wasn't really a professional relationship. More casual, which is how he preferred. I smiled at him and took a big drink of the sake.

"I don't understand why it tastes better around this time of day." He shrugged, smiling a little.

"It's always been that way Kaori-chan." he told me, placing his hand on my thigh. I slapped his hand away, wondering why he still flirted with me when I wasn't his fukutaichou anymore.

"Damn it Shunsui." I snapped, taking another drink. "Why the hell do ya do that? Ruin a perfectly good serious moment."

"I was tryin' to be serious Kaori-chan." he said, sounding appalled. I rolled my eyes at that one.

"Sure sure, you're such a womanizer. Just like that damn Shinji." I said, handing the bottle over to him.

He took it gratefully, taking a long drink. I turned my attention away from him, and I almost gasped feeling a pair of hands press down on my shoulders. I felt someone lean in closer to me and whisper in my ear

"Aw, yer hurting my feelings Kaori-chan. Didn't think ya could be so coldhearted."

'Damn that Shinji for sneaking up on me.' I turned, locking eyes with the blonde.

"What're you doing here?" I asked, shrugging his hands off my shoulders. He plopped in-between me and Kyoraku, placing his hand on his knee.

"No real reason." he replied. "Besides the sake, that's it."

"Of course." I mumbled, rather annoyed.

I rolled my eyes, watching him contaminate _my _sake. I didn't mind sharing sake with Kyoraku since we'd shared sake a ton of different times when I was in his division, Shinji was different though. We never had, and it was weird just suddenly starting. I wasn't able to do that after years of knowing him. I know…I make no sense at all.

"I'm done with that." I stated, looking back up at the clouds.

"Aw, come on Kaori-chan. I don't have cooties." Shinji whined, placing his arm around my shoulders. I didn't bother pushing him away and looked to Kyoraku.

"Please tell me-"

"Right here Kaori-chan." he said, passing me another bottle. I giggled, taking it with a smile. Apparently he'd known Shinji would show up.

"Arigato Shunsui." I said sweetly, gulping down the sake.

Shinji rolled his eyes at me, still not removing his arm from my shoulders. He didn't even understand how nervous he was making me right now, why was he able to do this to me? I didn't understand at all, what were my feelings towards him? And why did my feelings have to be confusing themselves like this? Could they just say, ok…we're not going to be confused about Shinji anymore and we're not going to be nervous around him. Of course not. I forced myself not to growl and took another swig of sake.

"So how's that fukutaichou of yours Kaori-chan?" Kyoraku asked, sounding slightly teasing. "Kid looked scared for his life in the meeting this morning." I glared slightly, finally removing Shinji's arm from my shoulders.

"He deserved every bit of scolding I gave him." I stated, crossing my arms over my chest pouting a bit. "Yamamoto-Soutaichou would've killed my ass for being late again."

"At least ya didn't fall asleep during the meeting again." Shinji teased, nudging my side. I deepened my glare.

"Shut it." I snapped, I frowned to myself. "It's all gone." I pouted, hitting Shinji upside the head with the empty bottle just because I could.

"Itai!" he whined, rubbing his head. "Violent much."

"Not as bad as Hiyori." I pointed out, throwing the bottle to the side. Shinji sighed in agreement, I scratched my head in thought. "Demo, right now I have Youta introducing the new recruits to the rest of the division."

"How'd the speech go for ya this time?" Kyoraku asked, knowing how much I dreaded speeches. I grimaced, putting my hand behind my head.

"Well if saying who I was and saying 'welcome to the division' counts as a speech then rather well." I replied, rubbing the back of my head. Shinji rolled his eyes, finishing off his bottle of sake.

"Ya'va been doin' this fer almost sixteen years, and ya still can't make a proper welcoming speech?" he asked, I shrugged in response.

"I suck at speeches, maybe I should get advice from Rose." I pondered, putting my finger to my cheek. "Speaking of Rose I need to go visit him, I haven't seen him since that meeting today." I looked at Kyoraku and smiled at him. "It was nice catching up taichou." He nodded, reaching across Shinji, and taking his hat off my head.

"Come back anytime Kaori-chan, you're still my favorite." I giggled hearing

"What was that?" Lisa.

"Time to go." Shinji exclaimed, hopping to his feet.

"Right behind ya." I said, following suit. We hopped off the roof together in time to watch Lisa jump up there, she looked annoyed. "He's screwed." Shinji laughed in agreement.

"Yer tellin' me, Lisa'll kill him." he said, I bit down on my lower lip thinking.

"Maybe not kill, more like fourth squadify." I guessed, he shrugged grinning.

"Eh, we'll find out tamorrow." I smiled, looking up at the sky to see how dark it was.

"Great, it's dark. I didn't think I'd stay that long." I mumbled to myself.

"Maybe visiten Rose should wait fer another time." Shinji suggested, I nodded knowing he was probably right. I knew this was around the time he usually wasn't himself, he was too wrapped up thinking about Mikoto.

"I guess, he's most likely playing that annoying guitar of his." I grumbled, Shinji laughed amused.

"Ya really hate that thing, dontcha?" I shrugged slightly.

"It's not so much that I hate it, it's just annoying as fuck." I explained, my hair blew around in all directions. "Anyway, I need to get to my room so…" I stopped, I even sucked at simple goodbyes. How could someone be bad at saying goodbye?

"How 'bout I walk ya there." Shinji asked, putting his arm around my shoulders.

I felt my face go red, I nodded rather than trying to get words to come out of my mouth. He chuckled quietly, leading me off towards my barracks. I didn't really know what to say, he was actually walking me to my barracks without flirting with me…this was so different. He was such a womanizer that for him to be civil was weird. Yeah he was different towards me because we had history as friends, but he'd never been _this _different. I bit down on my lower lip, trying to understand what was going through his head. Why was he acting like this?

"Ano…Shinji?" He looked down at me, a serious expression still on his face. "Is something bothering you, you don't really seem yourself." I said quietly. He grinned, shaking his head.

"It's nothin' Kaori, just enjoying spendin' time with ya." he replied, I felt my cheeks heat up. He was beginning to make me blush so easily now a days. I needed to keep my cool and stay calm.

"Uh huh." I managed to say, trying not to sound all that interested. "That's creepy." He raised an eyebrow. "When did you start enjoying spending time with me?" I asked, sounding blunt. He rolled his eyes, moving his arm off my shoulders. I turned away from my door facing him, waiting for him to say something. "You seem awfully quiet Shinji, something has to be bothering you." He stared down at me, that serious expression was still on his face. What the hell was he thinking?

"Kaori." he said quietly, taking a step closer. I took a step back, my back pressed against me door.

"Yeah?" I asked, trying not to sound nervous.

"Have ya ever wondered…never mind." he said, shaking his head. "Forget I said anything."

He turned, getting ready to walk off, and I grabbed the sleeve of his haori. Something was definitely up, and I wasn't going to let him walk away without telling me. He looked back at me, his grey eyes locking with my green ones.

"Shinji, talk to me. What's going on?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. He stared into my eyes for a few more seconds, before breaking the staring contest.

"Nothing fer ya ta worry that pretty little head of yers over." he said, kissing my forehead. I felt my heart skip but said with an annoyed tone

"Stupid womanizer." I slid my door open and heard his footsteps walking away.

"Oyasuminasai Kaori-chan." he said with a chuckle.

I turned, staring at his retreating figure. I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the fact that my cheeks were still burning over that kiss. But what I tried even harder to ignore, was the fact that my heart had felt like it'd stopped in my chest when his lips had touched my forehead. What the hell was going on here?

"Oyasuminasai you jerk."

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**Author's Note: Well, there you go. Third chapter is officially up. I'm hoping you guys are liking the story so far, I'm trying my very best on it. I absolutely love writing Kaori, I think she's my favorite OC I've ever created...yeah. Sorry for my rambling. Any who, you guys no my drill by now, correct? FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER!**

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_CHAPTER FOUR PREVIEW_

_"Imouto, konnichiwa." he said, propping the guitar up against his desk._

_I smiled sweetly at my brother and slid the door shut behind me. I walked across his office to him and sat on his desk infront of him, avoiding sitting on his sheet music. With my legs dangling barely a few inches from the floor, I looked at Rose and said_

_"Whacha up to?" He rolled his eyes hearing my little kid sounding voice and said_

_"Practicing." I giggled, rolling my eyes to myself._

_"Nande?" I asked curiously, picking up the many sheets of music._

_"Because I want to improve of course." Rose answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world, placing some of the sheets in a folder._


	5. Chapter Four: Sibling Bond

I knocked on the door, waiting for a response. I almost groaned hearing that stupid guitar, why the hell did he even bother playing that thing so early in the morning? It was only ten for god's sake. I knocked again, trying to ignore how impatient I was feeling. I hated to be kept waiting, I didn't mind keeping people waiting though…unless it was Yamamoto-Soutaichou that is.

"Come in." a voice said.

I let out a frustrated breath, sliding the door open, and stepping inside the office. I looked across the room at my brother. Rose was leaning back in his chair, holding his guitar. It looked like there was some music on his desk that he was reading from, either that or he was writing his own piece. Rose looked up from his guitar, smiling when he saw it was me.

"Imouto, konnichiwa." he said, propping the guitar up against his desk.

I smiled sweetly at my brother and slid the door shut behind me. I walked across his office to him and sat on his desk infront of him, avoiding sitting on his sheet music. With my legs dangling barely a few inches from the floor, I looked at Rose and said

"Whacha up to?" He rolled his eyes hearing my little kid sounding voice and said

"Practicing." I giggled, rolling my eyes to myself.

"Nande?" I asked curiously, picking up the many sheets of music.

I looked at it from all possible angels, flipping through the pages boredly. I didn't understand how he could stand reading music like this, it was so time consuming. Rose sighed, taking the sheet music from me. I couldn't read music at all, all the musical talent I had was obtained by ear. I listened to what I wanted to play, then I played it. Easy as that, reading music was a waste of my time.

"Because I want to improve of course." Rose answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world, placing some of the sheets in a folder. I tilted my head to the side, looking at the remaining sheets.

"Those don't have a publishing thingy." I stated, pointing to the ones in his hand. He smiled at how observant I was and nodded.

"It's my own piece." he told me, putting the sheets in order.

"Will you play it for me?" I asked, sounding sweet. My brother always was one of the few people that could bring out my sweet and kind side.

"It's not finished yet." he said, grabbing another folder. He placed his not finished composition in the folder, putting both folders in a drawer afterwards. "I promise to play it for you when it is." I smiled in happiness, nodding.

"Okay." I said, still sounding all sweet and kind. He smiled, poking my nose. I wrinkled my nose, pursing my lips. "Why'd ya do that?" I asked sounding immature, he chuckled shrugging.

"You're reactions are amusing." Rose informed me. "You never do anything people expect." I nodded, knowing people _did _find me confusing at times.

"Maybe that's the reason Shinji keeps flirting with me, trying to figure me out by the reactions I give him." I mumbled to myself, crossing my arms over my chest. Rose raised an eyebrow, looking interested in what I'd just said.

"What's he done?" he asked curiously, I shook my head.

"Nothing, just normal flirty him. Nothing at all." I said a little _too_ quickly. He narrowed his eyes a bit, knowing that I was lying to him.

"Kaori, don't lie to me." he said seriously. "I don't like that you feel like you have to, you are my Imouto after all." I nodded looking down, a little ashamed with myself.

"Gomen Rose." I apologized. "It really isn't anything big though." I glanced up at him, and he pushed my side bangs out of my eyes.

"Then if it isn't anything big, why do you feel the need to avoid telling me exactly what he's doing." he asked, he'd just backed me into a corner.

"Ano…it's a waste of good air." I said, trying to get out of telling him. He rolled his eyes, placing his hands on my knees.

"Kaori, talk." he ordered, staring me straight in the face. I sighed in defeat, knowing Rose wouldn't let me go until I _did_ talk, and said

"He's just doing the whole kiss on the forehead thing."

He nodded, staring into my eyes, reading them as best he could. I lowered my eyes, trying not to make eye contact with him. I didn't like the fact that sometimes he managed to see when something was bothering me or occupying my thoughts, I didn't like worrying him. He already had enough to deal with, without worrying over me as well.

"It's bothering you though." he stated, I shrugged halfheartedly.

"Not really." I lied, scratching the back of my head in thought. "It's a brother thing anyway, you do it to me." Rose rolled his eyes again, knowing I was lying to him.

"No, it is. I can tell just by the way you're speaking." he said, locking eyes with me again. "You're body language even suggests it makes you uncomfortable." I rolled my eyes, mentally cursing him for being so perceptive.

"Damn it Oni-chan, it's not a big deal." I told him, cracking my knuckles boredly. I needed to get out of this somehow, but I didn't exactly know how to go about it. He wouldn't let me out of it willingly.

"I'll talk to him." Rose finally said after a minute, I quickly shook my head.

"No Rose, don't." I asked of him. "Please. It's not a big deal."

"I don't like that it's bothering you though." he said sincerely, I nodded understanding where he was coming from. I would hate if something like this was going on with him, it was bad enough with the whole Mikoto thing he was currently dealing with. I was seriously feeling bad about that.

"I know, but it doesn't so much bother me that he does it." I said seriously. Rose searched my eyes, trying to see if I was lying to him. He looked at me confused, realizing I wasn't lying and said

"Then what about him doing it _does_ bother you?" I licked my dry lips absentmindedly and scratched my cheek with my index finger.

"Its just my stupid hormones." I said lamely. "They're confusing the shit outa me." Rose laughed, leaning back in his chair.

"Maybe you need a boyfriend." he suggested, smirking when I glared. "That might stop the awkwardness you're feeling towards Shinji." I rolled my eyes.

"No man is tying me down, arigato gosaimasu." I said with a sarcastic tone, Rose chuckled, knowing I'd say something like that.

"You wait, you'll find someone you want to spend the rest of your life with in due time." Rose said, picking up his guitar from leaning against his desk. I bit down on my lower lip, not wanting to believe something like that.

"Doubt that." I mumbled. "Men are bakas." He laughed, patting my arm.

"You say that now, but you'll change your mind. You used to date before you became a taicho." he pointed out, I shook my hair around making it messy looking.

"That was when I didn't have responsibilities like I do now. I don't have time for men or dating." I said, trying to convince myself of _just_ that…even though I really didn't want to believe it.

"You have plenty of time Kaori." Rose said, plucking a few of the strings. "You run around Seireitei all day, with nothing really to do except visit people." I crossed my arms, pouting to myself.

"Nu uh, Youta's just learned to do all the different types of paperwork." I informed him. "And he offered to do mine for me so that's why I run around Seireitei with nothing to do." Rose rolled his eyes, playing a few different chords.

"Mhm, now you just admitted to having free time." he pointed out.

'Kuso.' I rolled my eyes, hopping down from his desk.

"Whatever you say Rose." I said, putting my hands behind my head. Rose looked up from his guitar, staring at me. "I'm gonna go." He nodded, holding an arm out to me. I smiled and leaned down to hug him. "Promise me you won't say anything to Shinji." He let out a sigh and said with a reluctant tone

"Fine Kaori." I smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Arigato Oni-chan." I said sweetly, he chuckled.

I walked around his desk and skipped over to the door. I slid the door open, looked at Rose over my shoulder and smiled. He smiled back, turning his gaze back to that guitar. I walked out of his office, shutting the door behind me, and bounced down the hallway. What could I do now? I'd visited with Rose for a while, and I still had a whole bunch of time to spare. I could always go visit Kyoraku and drink a little, but I had a feeling Lisa was still mad that he admitted out loud that I was his favorite fukutaichou. It might not have been the best idea to visit him right now.

I didn't really want to visit Kensei, he was training his new recruits and I knew he'd be angry with me for interrupting. Training my new kids was an idea, but if I couldn't make a good speech I knew I couldn't train them. I'd let the rest of my division and Youta do that. Ukitake was currently ill, he'd actually forced himself to be at the meeting the other day. So visiting him was out. I knew Unohana was busy with her medical things so I couldn't interrupt there, Kuchiki was just out of the question…there were other people but I knew they were all busy. The only person that I knew wasn't doing anything was Shinji.

'I might as well go see him, maybe it'll stop him from coming in my office later today like he always does.' I nodded at the thought and head off towards the fifth division's barracks. I sighed boredly, not really thinking about anything, and ruffled my hair. Maybe getting it cut today was a good idea, it was getting too long for me to bother dealing with. When I got a boyfriend I'd grow it out. Boys always said my hair looked beautiful long, and that I actually looked very different with long hair. More feminine is what I believed they were thinking. I admitted I did look a ton more attractive with long hair, but I was trying to avoid getting a boyfriend. Having above shoulder length hair was my best chance at not getting one.

I stopped infront of Shinji's office and slid the door open without knocking since I never did. I looked around the office and shrugged seeing he wasn't here. Now what was I supposed to do until he got back? I smirked to myself and walk ahead inside. I shut the door and skipped across the office. I plopped down in his chair and spun around. I giggled in amusement, I loved spinning around in chairs. I bobbed my head to the side, trying to think of something else to do. Sure spinning was fun, but I'd need more to do than just that. I looked around his office boredly, trying to find something interesting and time occupying in his office.

I hopped up when an idea clicked in my head and hopped over to where he kept his records. I looked through the records, trying to find some classical music, and smiled finally coming across one of my favorites; Beethoven. Shinji had such good taste in music, I'd kill him if he didn't after all. I giggled to myself, placing the record on the record player, and setting the needle right. I bounced back Shinji's seat and plopped down in it, the sound on _Fur Elise _filling the room. I smiled in serenity and closed my eyes. I leaned back in the chair, seeing a piano in my head, and mentally played as the song continued. I parted my lips, sighing a bit, and emptied my mind to think.

There had to be some reason why my hormones were deciding to act the way they were. It didn't matter what guy it was, they only reacted to Shinji. When Kyoraku had put his hand on my thigh flirting with me yesterday, I hadn't had any hormonal reaction. Shinji could just look at me and get my head spinning. My heart would attempt to leap out of my chest even if he barely touched me, and I always wound up thinking about him no matter what I did. It was like…my body only reacted to him. Just thinking about him like I was now was giving me a serious condition of being turned on, and I couldn't do anything about it. I didn't understand why it had to be him of all people, why it had to be someone I considered a friend. Why did it have to be a womanizer like Hirako Shinji, someone that would never be in a serious relationship with someone.

I almost groaned but forced myself to calm down when the sound of _Moonlight Sonata _reached my ears. This classical music was something so calming, it helped me empty my head and think about everything clearly. I let out a quiet sigh and heard

"Kaori."

"AGH!"

I fell out of the chair, face first onto the floor. I groaned in pain and looked up to be met with Shinji's laughing face. I glared in annoyance, pushing myself up off the floor. Of course he had to show up _now_ of all times. I plopped back in his seat to find him still laughing at my face plant.

"Done yet?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He chuckled a little and said

"And ya said I couldn't scare ya anymore." I rolled my eyes, watching him lean against the desk. "What're ya doin' in here?" he asked curiously, ruffling my hair. I tilted my head to the side, ignoring the fact that my breath had caught in my throat when he'd touched my head, saying

"Eh, I was bored. Decided to come see you since everyone's busy." He crossed his arms, he didn't look all that amused, but at the same time he looked _so_ sexy. I mentally slapped myself at that one.

"Just cuz I'm the only person not busy, ya decided ta say hi?" I nodded in agreement, he rolled his eyes. "Arigato Kaori-chan, that makes me feel good 'bout our friendship." he said sarcastically, I giggled to myself.

"Aw, come on Shinji." I said, shoving him a bit. "I'm just teasing."

He glanced over at me, staring into my green eyes. I swallowed nervously, staring back into his grey ones. They were just so entrancing, I didn't understand how he was managing to make me feel so nervous again. These stupid hormones of mine needed their butts kicked, I needed to stop being so nervous around him. I needed these hormones to realize that he had no romantic or sexual attraction towards me, that he merely saw me as a younger sister. He flirted with me because he did that with every girl. But why didn't my hormones want to believe that…why didn't the subconscious part of my brain want to believe that? I broke eye contact with him, and he chuckled looking towards the record player.

"Beethoven." he said amused, I nodded with a smile.

"Of course, love it." I said, he chuckled again.

"I know, ya always wind up listenin ta it when yer over here with me." he pointed out, I shrugged.

"I like classical." I said, scratching the back of my neck in thought. "It's soothing." He grinned that same grin I was so accustomed to seeing, I managed to force myself not to blush. I rolled my eyes, and he poked my cheek boredly. "Nani?"

"I don't know." he said bluntly, I huffed annoyed.

"Well that's not my fault now is it?" I asked sarcastically. "I'm know I'm rather boring, you don't need ta tell me." Shinji looked at me confused, shaking his head.

"Yer not boring, where'd ya get that idea Kaori-chan?" he inquired, I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. I hadn't been thinking when I'd said that, great.

"Nowhere, my mind's just…blah." I answered, not really having any real idea about what I'd just said.

He smirked, leaning closer to me. I felt my pulse quicken, my heart rate speed up, my breathing getter harder. He was moving so close to me…close to my face. I wiggled back as far into the chair as I could get, but it wasn't all that far. He leaned in even closer, both his hands on the armrests, and I closed my eyes saying

"No! Don't rape me."

He chuckled, moving his fingers over my cheek. I didn't open my eyes as his fingers moved across my cheek, down the side of my face, over my lips…this wasn't a good position for me to be in at the moment. What was going on in his head? I opened my eyes, meeting a pair of grey ones. What was he thinking?

"Shinji?" I questioned, he tilted his head to the side slightly. "What're you thinking about?" His smile faded from his face, that's when I knew there was something on his mind.

"Kaori, yer rather beautiful ya know?" I felt my cheeks burn, why the hell was he…why'd he…I _had_ to have a normal reaction.

"Womanizer." I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

I couldn't let him see how nervous that compliment had made me, or how much I liked that he thought that about me. I glanced up at him, watching him move backwards from me. He leaned back against his desk, staring into my eyes.

"Really Kaori-chan, yer gorgeous." he said sincerely, my jaw almost dropped. He was being one hundred percent serious with me.

"Ano…arigato Shinji." I said, rubbing my arm nervously. "What brought that-"

"Hirako-Taichou, Yamamoto-Soutaichou wished for me to…" Aizen stopped seeing me sitting there with Shinji and bowed in respect. "Gomen Hirako-Taichou. I didn't realize you were speaking with Otoribashi-Taichou."

I smiled, hopping to my feet. I needed to get out of here, this situation was too awkward. Maybe we both just needed some space from each other for a little while, until I could figure this out at least. Thank goodness Aizen had decided to interrupt.

"It's not a big deal Sousuke." I said sweetly. "We'd just finished, and I was getting ready to leave." I looked at Shinji and smiled a bit. "I'll see you later or something Shinji." He nodded, grinning at me.

"Later Kaori."

I nodded and walked out of his office. I sighed, heading back in the direction of my office. I had a feeling Youta was going to need some help with all that paperwork, besides…I needed something to keep my mind occupied with something other than Shinji. I almost groaned in annoyance and let out a sigh. How the hell was he managing to do this to me?

* * *

_**The pendulum swings forward. **_

_**The story rewinding backwards to the past will pause for an instant, so that we may take a look back into the future. **_

_**The decisions made during the present, will greatly affect future events.**_

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I smiled serenely, looking up towards Shinji. He was already staring at me and grinned when our eyes locked. I felt my cheeks going hot, and he ran his fingers through my spring green hair. I glanced down at the bed sheets, running my finger down his bare chest shyly. He chuckled, loving how embarrassed he could make me by just looking at me, and hooked his fingers under my chin. He tilted my face up, staring into my eyes for a moment, before capturing my lips with his. I smiled into the kiss, loving how gentle he was being towards me. After hours of crazy rough passionate sex, gentle kisses were the best thing. It showed me that he cared about me, that he didn't just think of me as some "fucking" buddy…even though I knew he didn't think that. I guess the gentle kisses helped prove his devotion to me, his love…just everything.

I smiled into the kiss, moving my lips against his. His hand moved out of my hair, down my bare back. I giggled, enjoying how loving he was acting towards me, and broke the kiss. I opened my eyes, staring into his grey ones. He stared back into mine, that same loving look on his face. He ran one of his fingers over my cheek saying

"Kaori." I tilted my head to the side a little, pressing my lips against his cheek.

"Hmm?" I asked sweetly. He chuckled, burying his nose in my hair.

"What's on yer mind my little love?" he asked, pressing his lips against the top of my head. I smiled slightly, taking a hold of the sheets above the my breasts.

"Just thinking about some things." I said softly. He nodded, keeping his arm wrapped tightly around my waist, his hand resting on my lower back.

"Like what?" he inquired, I felt a smile tug at my lips. I sighed a bit saying

"Soul Society." He looked at me curiously, wondering why I was thinking about Soul Society of all things. "About when we were taichous…and how I was so confused about you." He chuckled, knowing how he'd confused me shitless, and pressed his lips against my forehead.

"It was fun." he said amused, I rolled my eyes slightly annoyed with him _still _thinking that.

After all the years of us being together, he still found it absolutely hilarious how he'd pushed me into figuring out my feelings for him…without him even saying anything to me about it. He was such a jerk at times.

"Not for me, bastard." I snapped, he chuckled again.

"True, I needed ya ta figure out yer feelings faster though. Ya had no clue how long I'd wanted ya." he said softly, rubbing my arm with his thumb. I tilted my head to the side curiously, he'd actually never told me how long he'd had feelings towards me.

"How long?" I asked confused, pressing my lips against his neck.

He moaned softly as I trailed soft kisses and love bites down his neck before pinning my arms against the mattress. I stared up at him as he hovered above me, the red covers slipping down his back. I absentmindedly licked my lips, and he placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

"A very long time Kaori-chan." he muttered against my lips. My arms slid around his neck, keeping his lips pressed against mine.

"Tell me." I demanded softly, breaking the kiss. He stared down into my eyes, holding my gaze for what seemed like hours, and finally said

"Since the day ya joined Gotei 13." I felt a smile come to my lips and said

"You kept it a secret for that long?" He nodded, still keeping his eyes on my own. "I'm surprised you kept it a secret that long, so many years without saying anything to me." He chuckled, kissing down the side of my face.

"Back when we were kids I even had a crush on ya." he told me, lightly biting on my neck. I groaned, arching my back slightly, my breasts pressed against his chest. "I liked ya plenty of times before the Gotei 13, somehow managed ta get my thoughts away from ya when I graduated the Academy early. Then ya just had ta join Gotei 13, destroyed all my hard work." I closed my eyes, enjoying feeling his lips against my skin.

"You didn't care." I mumbled, he chuckled in agreement before biting down slightly harder on my neck.

"Yeah." he murmured, placing a hand on my side.

"You were older." I said, trying to connect my thoughts. "You were older than me, and I didn't understand when I was a kid. I just thought…brother…best friend…Gotei 13 confused me shitless. It crossed my mind a time or two, but other than that I ignored that feeling. Knowing if I thought too much on it, our friendship might be ruined." He chuckled in amusement, running his fingers lightly up my inner thigh. I moaned softly, I was beginning to feel lightheaded again.

"Kaori, ya have no idea…how many times I forced myself away from ya." he said, ceasing from kissing my neck. I opened my eyes, staring up at him. "Ya confused me so much when ya were a fukutaichou, I didn't know what ya were feelin' so I backed off as much as I could. When ya became taichou I couldn't do it anymore, I needed ta know what yer feelings were. That's why I pressed ya so hard." I nodded, understanding why he had to do it. If he hadn't, I didn't know if we'd be together today.

"I know Shinji, and I'm happy you did. Even though the way you got me to realize it pissed me off for a good number of weeks." I said, not all that amused about that; he grinned in amusement.

"It was the only way, ya know?" I shrugged, not really wanting to admit that he was right.

"Oni-chan was ready to kill you when you did that." I told him, smiling in amusement. "He didn't like seeing me so angry and upset, especially over you of all people." Shinji cringed a bit at the memory.

"Yeah…he threatened ta rip my head off." I giggled, nodding in agreement.

"He told me about that one…what were some of the other threats?" I pondered, putting my finger to my cheek. "Ano…oh right. There was destroying your music from the world of the living, some extremely violent things that may have involved your death, and burning your collection of hats." Shinji grimaced at that one.

"I protected those with my life." he stated, smirking a bit.

I giggled, leaning upward kissing his cheek. He smiled a sincere smile at me, pressing his lips against the top of my head. I giggled quietly, falling back against the pillows. Shinji didn't move, still hovering above me. I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was thinking exactly.

"Shinji?" I questioned. "Ready to move yet?" He chuckled to himself, kissing below my jaw line.

"Not really love." he muttered, biting down on my neck.

I felt my brain going all groggy feeling him sucking on my skin, pleasure this nice was something I couldn't just give up. Right now I wanted to get as much physical and hormonal pleasure that I could, who'd wanna complain about getting sex anyway? I moaned softly, moving my fingers up his back before sliding my arms around his neck. He brought his lips to mine, gently kissing me. I forced myself not to wiggled around feeling his hands move down my sides, stopping at my hips. I moaned at him biting on my lower lip and roughly pressed my lips against his. Teeth scraped against teeth, tongues were dancing, it was such a passionate kiss. I groaned when his hands began wandering all over my body, arching my body into his touch. He broke away from my lips, kissing my neck again. I was feeling so lightheaded at all his touches and caresses, he knew just where to touch me to get whatever reaction he wanted from me. I groaned softly, digging my nails into his shoulders, feeling his fingers lightly trailing back up my inner thighs. His fingers stopped, and I whimpered in protest. He was so close, and he just had to stop and be a tease like this? He pulled back from my neck, staring me in the eyes, a huge smirk on his face.

"Why lookin' so sad Kaori-chan?" he teased.

I knew I most likely had the most pathetic look on my face, but I didn't care. I hated when he was _this_ teasing, and I knew I'd say anything to get him to touch me. He knew it too which made it all the worse…for my pride that is.

"Please." I whispered, sounding _incredibly_ pathetic. He grinned, slightly moving his fingers up. I bit down on my lower lip, whimpering again.

"Tell me what ya want Kaori-chan." he ordered, still sounding teasing.

"You." I gasped, he raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, sliding his fingers up a little further.

"Your touches." He chuckled, loving that he could get me to say whatever he wanted.

"And who do you love Kaori-chan?" he taunted, waiting for my answer before he even _thought_ about touching me there.

"You Shinji!" I screamed.

"OI! If you're gonna fuck her do it already. I'm tired of hearing your god damn screams and moans!" Hiyori raged from outside the door.

Of course, no privacy.

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**Author's Note: Sorry it took a good while to get chapter four up. Despite the wait, I hope you all liked it. Writing a good three stories at once is quite difficult, not to mention all my other lovely little side-projects. I'll leave those a surprise though. I love Kaori, I swear...I think she just might be my favorite OC. Yeah I said that last time, but it's true. Alrighty, drill time. FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER. Here comes the preview!**

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_PREVIEW CHAPTER FIVE_

_"Tsk, tsk princess. You should learn to be a little more kind." he played, trying to piss me off._

_"What do you want Gyaku?" I asked quietly, not wanting everyone to hear me talking with my inner Hollow._

_"Ooo, you're using my name. I feel privileged, my dear princess." he cooed, I narrowed my eyes._

_"Just get to the point." I snapped; that same malicious laugh I was so used to hearing from him, rang in my ears._


	6. Chapter Five: Hollow & Zanpakuto Halves

I smiled to myself, snuggling into the sheets. I looked up at Shinji through my bangs and resisted the urge to giggle seeing him asleep. Hiyori was definitely going to be angry with me for hogging him the whole day, but I'd be sure to let her know she could beat him all she wanted tomorrow...or later today. I stared at Shinji's face, lightly running my fingers down his cheek. He was such a deep sleeper, he probably didn't feel it. I tilted my head as best I could against his chest, without waking him up, and studied his face from a different angle. He was such a frustrating and confusing man, but his love and devotion made up for it. I continued staring at him for a few minutes, every now and then running my fingers over his cheek, and finally lifted myself off of him. I scooted over to the other side of the bed and slipped out of the covers. Shinji turned on his side, still sleeping, and reached for where I should be. I rolled my eyes to myself in amusement and grabbed my clothes from off the floor.

I quickly dressed, quietly tiptoed across his room, and pulled the door open. I looked at his sleeping form over my shoulder and smiled to myself. I exited the room, leaving the door open so I didn't wake him by closing it. I walked down the hallway, my bare feet softly slapping against the wooden floor, and down the stairs into the kitchen. I carefully walked through the darkness, reaching my hand out infront of me so I didn't bump into anything. I felt my hand touch the wall on the other side of the room and moved my hand across the wall. I smiled, finally coming across the light switches and flicked the second switch. The overhead light popped on, dim enough to where it wouldn't wake anyone, and dim enough to where I wouldn't be blind. I let out a sigh and head over to the refrigerator.

I looked through the fridge boredly, trying to find some food that caught my eye; I was _starving_. I groaned quietly to myself, going through some of the drawers, before I came across some of the left over pizza from tonight. I smiled to myself, thankful that Rose had saved some of the pizza for me, and grabbed the box. I grabbed my favorite sport's drink, orange flavored Aquarius, and set the food on the counter. I shut the fridge, taking a seat on the counter and opened the pizza box. I licked my lips hungrily and grabbed a piece of the cheese pizza. I munched on the cold pizza, marveling in how awesome it tasted, and took a swig of my drink. I bobbed my head to the side, enjoying the food, and grabbed another piece of pizza. I counted the pieces, wrinkling my nose afterwards. I knew I had to save at least three for Shinji since he loved pizza as much as I did, so that meant that after I ate this piece I only got one more.

I let out a sigh, not liking to share pizza at all, and bit down on the piece in my hand. As I ate the pizza, I thought about everything going on around us Visoreds. Wondering if everything would work out in our favor. When Urahara had recently told us about Aizen betraying Soul Society, I had a huge smirk on my face the whole time, amused that it had finally happened. It was all Soul Society's own fault for not noticing how evil he was, but now that I actually was all on my own, I wasn't smirking about it. I had been one of the people that hadn't expected him to turn out this way, back when I was in Soul Society. Shinji had been the one that saw Aizen's true nature, I hadn't. I'd thought he was a nice guy, a little creepy, but nice nonetheless. Just remembering that I had thought those kind of things, made me pissed off at myself. How could I have been so blind about it all? I didn't understand why I hadn't seen it, I was an intelligent person, but Aizen had tricked me…and everyone else.

I shook my head to myself, taking my last piece of pizza. I closed the box, setting it back inside the fridge and took my seat back on the counter. I started nibbling on the crust of the pizza, thinking about the battle ahead. Urahara had told us about Kurosaki Ichigo and about his newly obtained Hollow powers. He was like us, a Shinigami that had Hollow powers, a Visored. We needed to get him in our group, we needed to recruit him. In all honesty, I didn't want another person in our group. He was helping the Shinigami, fighting their battles, and he seemed to be happy doing that. I didn't want to have to tear him away from his friends, his family, and what he loved to do. Shinji said he would be valuable to us though, and what Shinji said went.

I just hoped, we'd be able to help him control his Hollow. It was quiet a terrifying thing, having one buried deep inside you. Then its voice, that was always a scary thing to hear in your ears. Having a Zanpakuto automatically meant that you'd be hearing another voice in your head besides your own, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. My Zanpakuto got along with me great, we were two halves of a whole. The Hollow me…now that was a different story. My complete and total opposite, my evil half. I managed to control him somehow, but I was always terrified out of my wits that he'd somehow manage to get stronger than me. That was my motivation, to stay strong. Being in control of myself was something I wouldn't let go of. There was no way it would happen, and this stupid Hollow inside me wasn't going to overpower me like he used to.

"_Now that's not a very nice thought, princess." _a cool voice taunted.

I sighed, lowering my eyes, forcing myself to ignore the voice…the voice of my inner Hollow. I finished off my pizza, taking another drink of my Aquarius. I sighed, leaning my back against the wall behind me as I sat on the counter.

"_Princess, why do you feel the need to ignore me?" _the same male voice asked, still sounding teasing.

I let out a frustrated breath, closing my eyes. I could just see his face filling my head. His snow white skin, piercing green eyes, the mask with eight eyeholes. His mask reminded me somewhat of a spider web, but it looked more solid and there were black lines running all over the mask, giving the appearance of a spider web...if that made any sense at all. I opened my eyes, trying to keep myself from seeing his face. I didn't want to deal with that asshole right now, he was such a nuisance.

"_Tsk, tsk princess. You should learn to be a little more kind." _he played, trying to piss me off.

"What do you want Gyaku?" I asked quietly, not wanting everyone to hear me talking with my inner Hollow.

"_Ooo, you're using my name. I feel privileged, my dear princess."_ he cooed, I narrowed my eyes.

"Just get to the point." I snapped; that same malicious laugh I was so used to hearing from him, rang in my ears.

"_Do you feel it, princess?"_ he asked, teasing me.

I closed my eyes, focusing on everything around me. Reiatsu, there was reiatsu going crazy all around Karakura town. Something was going on…but what? I could feel the world just stop around me, two hands were placed on either side of my legs. I opened my eyes, staring right into the green eyes of my inner Hollow. The world around me seemed to be frozen. The clock's hands weren't moving, I couldn't feel the air from the air conditioner against my skin, and I couldn't hear the icemaker in the refrigerator running. It was his world now, and he was in control of the world around me for the time being. I glared when he ran the back of his hand down my cheek, his arm tauntingly slid around my waist, pulling me against him. I deepened my glare, I hated when he touched me.

"_The reiatsu, it's that Kurosaki boy's. His Hollow is in control, can't you tell princess?" _he taunted, moving his body closer to the counter...and closer to _me_.

"Is there some reason you wished to talk about this of all things?" I asked, moving my chest back from his. There was no way I could move my legs from either side of his body though, I was trapped like this…for now that is. He smirked, his green eyes still locked on mine.

"_Don't you feel bad for the poor boy?" _he asked, his smirk widening. _"He's not able to control him like you control me, princess."_

"Of course I feel bad for him." I replied, glaring at Gyaku. "You beasts are havoc loving monsters." He narrowed his eight eyes at me, his lips stretched into a thin line, he didn't look all that pleased with me saying that.

"_Now that wasn't very polite, my dear princess. Show some more compassion." _he suggested, with a teasing tone. _"I'm sure we could get along better." _I laughed at that one.

"By letting you control me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. His lips curved into a sly smile, he tilted his head to the side, locking his eyes with mine.

"_We could do so much together, princess. Have you ever wondered what all you could accomplish by just letting me help every now and again?" _he drawled, sounding exceedingly charming.

"Yeah, I've definitely thought about that." I scoffed, he glared again. "I don't want you in control of me, I'm rather content with being control of my own body." His eyes darkened, and I felt his grip tighten around my waist.

"_You'll be begging for my help before it's over princess." _he said, with a dark form of seriousness. _"The war will push you to your limit, and you won't be able to survive without me. You need me princess."_

"I don't need your help, and I never have." I snapped, narrowing my eyes. "I'm a strong person, and I don't need anyone's help. Especially not _yours_." Gyaku hissed angrily, hooking his fingers under my chin, and brought my face close to his.

"_You think that." _he growled through clenched teeth. _"When it comes down to it princess you're weak, and I will get out of here. I won't wait and watch while you kill us both. I'm not ready to die just yet, my princess."_

"If I do die, then so be it. Demo, I'm determined to last through this war long enough to see Aizen's demise. If I die by the end of it, that's fine by me. At least I'll know you've been brought down with me." I said angrily, he lips curved into a sly smirk.

"_Even if that means leaving your knight?"_ he teased. I bit down on my lower lip, extremely frustrated with him. Why'd he have to bring up Shinji of all things? _"He's your knight, and you're ready to leave him? It shows how much you care about him, wouldn't you agree princess?" _

I pulled my hand off the counter, ready to punch him in the mouth. He didn't know anything about my feelings for Shinji, or how much I cared about him. Next thing I knew, I'd swung at air. There was no arm around my waist, no fingers hooked under my chin. I could hear the clock's ticks, the ice maker spewing out ice in the refrigerator, and I could feel cool air blowing against my skin. I narrowed my eyes, angry that he'd disappeared before I could give him a sore jaw.

"_There'll be plenty of time for that later, princess."_ he drawled, his sly voice ringing in my ears.

I groaned quietly, angry that asshole had spoken to me, and hopped off the counter. I tossed my empty can in the trash and scratched my head in thought. I wasn't really feeling all that tired, but I knew that if I didn't get enough sleep tomorrow's training would kill me. My limbs needed rest from today's training anyway…but I _really_ didn't want to sleep. I chewed on my lower lip in thought, trying to figure out what I could do rather than sleep. I smiled at the thought that just popped in my head, knowing Rose was the person I needed to talk to right about now, and walked over to the light switch. I quickly flicked the light off and walked back up the stairs of the warehouse. I walked down the hallway, stopping infront of Rose's door. I stood there for a minute, debating on whether or not I should knock, and finally just walked in.

I looked to find Rose sitting up in bed, his back against the pillows. Apparently he hadn't gone to sleep yet, that was a good thing for me. I would've felt awful for waking him up in the middle of the night. He looked up from the manga he was reading and smiled at me.

"Kaori." he said with a nod.

I felt a smile come to my lips and closed the door behind me. I walked up to Rose's bed, crawling in beside him, and placed my head on his chest. He chuckled at me, putting down his manga, and pulled a blanket over me to keep me warm. I giggled, hugging him tightly. My brother was just plain awesome, I loved him so much.

"Arigato Oni-chan." I said sweetly, looking up at him. He rolled his eyes, hugging me back using one arm.

"No problem Kaori, now why are you awake at this hour?" he asked, pulling out the bossy older sibling routine on me. I shrugged, giggling a little.

"I was hungry, ate the pizza you saved for me." I replied, closing my eyes.

"Ah, did you save some for Shinji?" he inquired, knowing how pissed Shinji would be for not getting any pizza. I nodded, saying

"Mhm, left him three."

"Good, he'd be quite angry knowing there was pizza and he didn't have any." Rose said, stroking my hair. I nodded, loving that I had such a caring older brother, and said

"Eh, he'd get over it. I'd just have to rape him." I opened my eyes to find Rose rolling his.

"Rape again?" he asked, I nodded amused.

"Yep, he'd deserve it. Especially since he's such a womanizer." I said, sounding serious but not being serious in the least. "After all his years of it, it's time the universe paid him back." Rose rolled his eyes again at how dramatic I was sounding.

"You're a raving lunatic." he muttered, I wrinkled my nose.

"Am not." I whined, sounding like a four year old. He chuckled, still stroking my hair.

"Quiet down, or you'll wake everyone up." he advised. I nodded, cringing a little.

"Whoopsy." I mumbled. "Gomen Rose." He nodded, smiling at me, and said

"Did you feel the reiatsu earlier?" I nodded, absentmindedly licking my lips.

"Yeah, it's that Kurosaki guy's." I stated, snuggling into the warm blanket. "Some fight's goin' on." Rose nodded in agreement, looking up towards the ceiling in thought. "Whacha thinkin' about Rose?" I asked, wondering what was on his mind.

"These Bounts." he said plainly, still staring at the ceiling. "I wonder what Soul Society did to them to make them want revenge so badly." I shrugged, closing my eyes.

"Perhaps they were betrayed like us." I said, sounding nonchalant. "That's a pretty good reason if you ask me."

"Imouto." I flicked my eyes to Rose's face, staring into his eyes. "You need to let go a little." I felt my eyes narrow, and I looked away from my Oni-chan.

"How can I Rose?" I asked, trying not to sound angry. "If they would've tried to help us rather than plan to kill us, we wouldn't be going through all this right now. Aizen could be trapped behind bars or even dead by now. Instead, he's in Hueco Mundo, getting ready to overthrow the world. All because of Soul Society." Rose sighed, hugging me again.

"I understand what you're feeling Kaori, believe me. Demo…harboring all this hatred isn't a good thing for you to do. Hollows feed off it, you need to let go a little." he said, sounding sympathetic. I nodded, knowing he was right, but I couldn't make myself. Soul Society was a bunch of morons, and the world was falling apart all because of them. "Everything will work out in the end Kaori, I promise." I nodded, leaning upward and kissing his cheek.

"Arigato Oni-chan." I said, thanking him for his support. I sat up, pulling the blanket off myself. "I think I'm gonna head back to bed now, Shinji'll get mad if he wakes up and I'm not there." Rose nodded, not really liking that I was sharing Shinji's bed, and took the blanket from my fingers. I hopped up from the bed and head for the door.

"Kaori." I stopped mid-step and looked back at Rose. "I know you both have been together for years, demo…I don't really like it." I nodded, sighing to myself.

"Arigato for being so concerned Rose, Shinji loves me though. You know it, and so does everyone else. I don't understand why you say this after all these years, you know he'd never hurt me." I said, twirling a strand of my hair around a finger. Rose smiled a little, saying

"It's an older sibling thing." I giggled and nodded, opening the door.

"I know Rose, don't worry though." I said, giggling a bit.

"You basically want me to stop being your Oni-chan then." Rose played. I looked at him over my shoulder and nodded in agreement.

"Just about Shinji." I clarified, he nodded.

I walked out of Rose's room, closing the door behind me, and head back towards Shinji's room. I slipped inside his room, quietly closing the door, and looked over towards the bed. He looked asleep, hopefully he still was. I didn't want to have to deal with explaining where I'd been to him. I tiptoed across the room, lowering myself into the bed. I slipped under the covers, moving over to Shinji, and snuggled close to his warm body. I closed my eyes, inhaling his scent. Again, he smelt amazing. I felt his arm go around my waist and I opened my eyes, for them to meet Shinji's.

"Where've you been?" he asked with a teasing tone.

'Great.'

**

* * *

**

_**The pendulum swings back. **_

_**The story barreling towards the future will stop for an instant, so that we may peer into the past. **_

_**Though it was only the briefest of moments, its effects were wide-spread and long-lasting.**_

* * *

I stared up at the ceiling of my room with a bored expression on my face, my hands behind my head, and my legs crossed at my ankles. I was so bored, there was literally _nothing _for me to do. Youta had taken over the paperwork…again, so there was nothing for me to do in my office. I'd come back to my room to at least _try _to take a nap, but I wasn't really succeeding. I'd been staring at my ceiling for at least an hour, perhaps longer. I wasn't really paying attention to the time so I didn't really know how much time I'd been wasting laying here. I had actually almost fallen asleep a couple different times. But every time I drifted a little way into unconsciousness, my mind decided to start thinking about that good for nothing, confusing as fuck, complete and total womanizer, Hirako Shinji.

That man, pissed me off to no end. Literally, there was no fucking end to it. I didn't understand why he had to be the man, and the _only _man, my hormones reacted to. Why did it have to be him? Someone that I'd known since my childhood, someone that I considered a friend, someone that had no _real _respect for woman, someone that was in love with every woman he saw, someone that didn't know how to be in a serious relationship. Why did it have to be him of all the people in Seireitei? Why!?

I turned over, groaning into my pillow in frustration. Shinji of all people, it just _had _to be him. I couldn't understand any of this, and I didn't think I ever would. Hormones were quite the confusing things, it was like they had a mind of their own. Once they found someone they thought was attractive…wait, no! Omit that last part, omit it! I did not just think that, I did _not _find Shinji attractive. There was no _way _I found Shinji attractive. My hormones were just stupid, they were confused. They thought he was attractive when _I _didn't…yeah. That had to be it. Someone that you don't even like…gah. What was I thinking? I was just confusing myself doing all this thinking. Maybe I just needed to stop arguing with my hormones and start thinking of all this in a more logical manner. Maybe I needed to just try to think like a hormone…if that made any fucking sense.

'Ok…what would my hormones find attractive about Shinji? Well…he does have really nice hair. It's a really gorgeous shade of blonde, and it's all long and flowy. I know it's really soft from those times when I threw him into a wall by his hair. His eyes are really pretty too. They have just this look, like…when he's staring into my eyes. It's like he's looking passed my eyes and seeing something deeper, something inside me. Like he can see into my being, into my emotions, my feelings, my heart…gah. Not again. No! I _don't_ feel that way about him. Hormones, you need to understand that…I guess I just need to prove to my hormones I don't feel that way. How do I do that though?'

I sighed, moving my face out of the pillow. I thought a little longer, trying to figure out what to do to prove to my hormones that I didn't have any romantic or sexual attraction towards Shinji. I looked up from the sheets, hearing a swishing noise, and smiled at the spider up in the very corner of my room. This spider, was my Zanpakuto spirit. The spider was black having crazy patterns all over its skin of both pink and purple, starting out at a darker tone and getting lighter. The spider lowered itself from the cobweb it had taken residence in, dropping down in my palm. I smiled slightly, happy to have his company.

"Motarasu Kumo." I said, smiling a little.

"_You seem frustrated." _his calming voice said to me, I nodded. I was _very_ frustrated, hopefully he'd be able to help me. _"What's the problem my dear?"_

"Well…my hormones are being stupid." I replied, scratching my head in thought.

"_How so?" _he asked, sounding interested.

"They feel the need to only react to Shinji." I told him, swishing my side bangs out of my eyes.

Oh, I forgot to mention, Yoruichi cut my hair for me. It was above my shoulders now, straight…as usual, layered, my side-bangs swishing infront of my eyes. I was rather happy with it, now I wouldn't have to worry about guys checking me out. It always seemed like when my hair was longer, I got hit on more by guys. It was quite annoying.

"_Hmm, it seems like you have quite the problem." _he pondered, I nodded in agreement.

"I don't understand why they're doing it." I said, slightly frustrated. "I don't have those feelings towards him anyway."

"_I'm not trying to upset you Kaori, demo…have you honestly ever thought about if you really do?" _he asked, still sounding calm. I looked at him shocked.

"Motarasu Kumo." I gasped, my mouth hanging open in shock. "How could you even-"

"_Gomen nasai." _he apologized. _"You might just need to actually think about it though."_

"I _have_ thought about it." I said, lowering my eyes. "I don't like him."

"_Have you honestly thought about it?" _he inquired. _"Honestly?" _I lowered my eyes again, ruffling my hair. _"You need to have an open mind about it all."_

"An open mind about _Shinji_?" I screeched. "He's Shinji! He's a womanizer, he won't ever be in a serious relationship with someone. He doesn't know how to be committed to someone-"

"_On the outside."_ he interjected. _"Shinji might actually be ready to commit to someone, he just has yet to show it. People hide their emotions Kaori, so they'll be protected…or even to protect those they care about at times. Perhaps Shinji is just hiding how he's ready to commit to someone and be in love. You'll never know unless you talk to him about it."_

"Talk to him about what?" I asked, slapping my hand to my forehead. "There's nothing _to _talk about Motarasu Kumo." I heard him sigh in slight frustration with me.

"_You say that, but you don't mean it." _he told me._ "There is something you both need to talk about, and until you figure your feelings out and talk to him, nothing will change. And I'm not just saying that to get you to do something about your confusion, I'm saying it because it's true."_

"Demo-"

"_No, you need to talk to him. That's what I think. I can't give you anymore advice now, so I hope you figure out what you need to do and act." _he said.

"Arigato." I muttered, wishing he could've been of a little more help.

"_You're welcome, I hope things get better for you Kaori dear." _he said sincerely. _"And remember, not everything is as it seems."_

I nodded, watching the spider fade off my hand. I was happy Motarasu Kumo had talked to me about all of this stuff, at least now I knew I _had_ to do some _serious _thinking. Maybe getting pissed off at the idea that I may have some attraction towards Shinji and immediately denying it, wouldn't help me figure out if I really _did_ have an attraction towards him. I didn't know what I was going to do if I _did _have feelings for Shinji though. He was a frustrating human being, and he just pissed me off all the time. I thought about what Unohana had told me about some people. Some people, were completely rude to each other to hide that they really did have feelings towards each other. That wasn't really always true, but it happened some of the time. Maybe…Shinji was hiding that he had feelings for me…just like I was maybe hiding that I had feelings for him. I didn't really know, but I knew that I had to do something. I had to figure out a way to find out if I liked Shinji…

I finally pushed myself off my bed and slipped my shoes on my feet. I walked across my room, grabbed my white haori off a chair, and slipped my arms through the sleeves. I walked into my bathroom, looking at my reflection in the mirror. I studied my reflection, wondering if I'd manage to see why Shinji would have an attraction towards me. I tilted my head to the side, staring at myself, trying to see myself through another person's eyes. My eyes were olive green…it was actually a very pretty shade of green. My skin, white…pale but slightly creamy. My hair, it was soft and spring green. So it wasn't as bright as Mashiro's, but it wasn't a disgustingly dark green. It was somewhere in the middle I guessed, maybe like grass…yeah…a little lighter than grass.

I ruffled my hair, making it look a little messier. I looked a little better with messy short hair, rather than neat and short…I looked slightly attractive I guessed. I bit down on my lower lip, wondering why Shinji would like me so much...if he did that is. I ran my fingers through my short hair, moving my side-bangs aside, slightly infront of my left eye. I nodded to myself, seeing that I looked decent, and finally walked out of my room. I'd just realized what I had to do to find out if I liked Shinji…it would be extremely weird, but it was the only way I could think of. It was always said that when people kissed, they could tell how much they cared about each other…or if they didn't. I had to kiss Shinji…and it was going to be insanely weird.

I shook my head to myself and walked out of my room, towards Shinji's division. I thought about how I could get away with kissing him, without just bursting into his office, grabbing him by his haori, and pulling his lips against mine. I blushed at the thought, wondering what his reaction to _that _would be, but shook my head. I wiped the blush off my face, still thinking.

'Maybe what I need to do, is just go in his office, and visit him like I normally would. I'll sit in his chair…or on his desk, either one. I do both of those whenever I visit him so it wouldn't seem like anything was different between us. Then, we'll talk a little…as usual. It'll be either a joking around conversation or it'll be serious. But whatever type of conversation it is, he'll be a womanizer and get all up in my face. He might touch my face, my hands or my shoulders, or he might not. Either way, I know he'll get in my face. Once he does, I can grab onto the back of his head, and pulled his lips down against mine. Or maybe…I could be more delicate about it. I could stare up into his eyes and lean forward, gently pressing my lips against his. If I move a little slowly, he might move back. If he moved back from me, it'd prove that he has no attraction towards me. And once that happens, my hormones can stop being stupid.'

I nodded to myself at how perfect my plan was and stopped infront of Shinji's office. I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for the task at hand, and calmed myself down. I reached forward, taking a hold of the handle, and slid the door open. I took a step into the office and looked up, saying

"Shinji I…"

My words stopped, caught in my throat. Shinji was standing there, his arm wrapped around a girl's waist, and the other behind her head. He was kissing her so fiercely and passionately. I took a closer look, seeing she had brown hair, ivory skin…she was the fifteenth seat of my division, Kazuma Satomi. The couple broke apart hearing my voice, and Satomi looked at me blushing.

"Kaori." Shinji said, looking shocked.

"Gomen." I said quickly, holding my hands up. "I didn't know…gomen nasai. I'll see you later Shinji."

I turned, bolting out of the office, sliding the door shut behind me. I took a deep breath, running down the hallway in shock. Why had I even bothered thinking that he had feelings towards me? He looked perfectly happy kissing that little whore from my division. She didn't deserve him, that stupid bitch. How could she…how could Shinji do something like this to me? He didn't even consult me about seeing someone from my division…that asshole. I felt this aching feeling in my chest, where my heart was. I clutched the area above my breast, breathing hard. How could…why…I felt my eyes burning, tears rolling down my cheeks. Why had I been so naïve and stupid to think something like this…why?

I ran back into my room, shutting the door, and slumped against the wall. I clutched my sides, trying to hold myself together. I felt like I was going to fall apart any second now, like there was nothing that could hold me together. I felt like, if I let go of my sides for a mere second, I'd fall apart. Before I even realized it, there were tears rolling down my cheeks. My throat felt so dry, like I needed to cough. I finally let a whimper escape my lips and coughed, still feeling tears rolling down my cheeks. Next thing I knew I was crying and coughing and wheezing, trying to breathe. Why would he do something like this to me? Why? I hated him, and there was nothing he could say to stop me from hating him. That complete and total asshole. All men were jerks, why did I even begin to think Shinji could be different? Why why why why why?

* * *

**Author's Note: This chapter was something I didn't really enjoy writing. I hated breaking poor Kaori's heart, but good thing's will come around eventually. Eventually being the key word. I apologize for the update taking so long, but it's not only my fault. I promised you lot that if you don't review there will not be an update, and I hold to that promise. So if you enjoy this story, and you want the updates to be faster then you need to review as well as read it. A writer likes to know their work is appreciated, and they like imput. I like to know if I'm doing a good job or a bad job so you all need to let me know, okay? FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER! Ja Ne!**

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_PREVI__EW CHAPTER SIX_

_"Who is it?" I called, choking on my words._

_"Otoribashi-Taichou, we need to head to the meeting." Youta said. He sounded confused at my tone of voice, but he didn't open the door. I was thankful for that, I couldn't let him see me like this._

_"Go away." I yelled, burying my face in my pillow._

_"Taichou?" Youta asked, sounding rather upset. "Are you ok?"_

_"I'm fine." I snapped, crying a little bit. "Just go away."_

_"Taichou, if you're upset-" he started._

_"Damn it Youta, just leave me alone. Go take notes at the meeting for me." I ordered, clutching my pillow tighter._

_"Taichou." I heard him whisper, he sounded so worried about me._

_"Tell Yamamoto-Soutaichou that I'm not feeling well, and I couldn't attend." I said sadly, wiping under my nose with the back of my hand._

_"Demo…Taichou please. Talk to me, what's wrong?" Youta asked._


	7. Extra: Scene One

_**Click**_

_**Click**_

_**Click**_

_**These are the only sounds echoing in the black, three seconds intervals between the clicks.**_

_**A golden pendulum is suspended in the air, slowly swinging back and forth, to and fro.**_

_**In order to understand the future, it is evident that we most know the past.**_

_**In order to understand relationships, we must know the very beginning of them.**_

_**In order to further understand people, we must know their history.**_

_**The golden pendulum slows to a halt, stopping time for a mere instant.**_

_**The pendulum begins to swing in reverse, going further into the past then we'd ever ventured before.**_

* * *

Otoribashi Rojuro sighed quietly, pulling his shoulder length wavy blonde hair into a loose ponytail. The child tapped his cheek boredly, attempting to occupy some of his time while he waited for his friends to arrive. He wrinkled his nose, allowing his hazel eyes to wander over the green field. Where the heck were they, it was almost two thirty. If they were going to be late _again_, he had no idea if he was willing to wait for them or not this time. He could be practicing his guitar right now or attempting to write some type of music, a melody perhaps. He groaned quietly, staring down at his white khaki shorts before adjusting his light blue polo short. He moved his eyes away from his clothes, tapping his fingers against his leg for a good twenty seconds. His eyes lit up when he saw three familiar boys come running across one of the many fields of Rukongai District Twenty One towards him. District Twenty One wasn't filled with all sorts of filthy rich nobles, it was more for those of middle class wealth. All the children in this district had both of their parents, lived in a rather nice house with their family, and the parents could all afford to feed their families without stealing or anything of the sort. It wasn't as easy of a life as the nobles had, but it was still a hell of a lot easier than those living in a district such as Rukongai District Sixty Four.

The first boy Rojuro, or as his sister called him, Rose recognized was a dark skinned boy named Aikawa Love. Love's black hair was cut rather short, and he was the tallest out of his group of friends. He'd recently developed the habit of wearing dark sunglasses wherever he went, almost never taking them off. He and Rose were best friends as well, talking to each other about everything, they were never seen without each other. Love was wearing a pair of black basketball shorts and a baggy white t-shirt, he wasn't one to mull over what he was going to wear for the day. The second boy, Muguruma Kensei. Kensei was the most muscular out of the three boys, many kids their age were slightly intimidated by his size. Kensei had silver hair, cut to where some of it fell slightly infront of his brown eyes. Kensei was the most mature out of the boys, but he was rather short tempered and was annoyed very easily by most things. His father had brought him up to be a tough individual, someone that could stand up for himself as well as for his friends. Today's outfit for him consisted of a pair of dark wash baggy jeans and a tight fitting red tank top, along with some black fingerless gloves. The boy in the middle of the group, Hirako Shinji. Shinji's slightly below shoulder length blonde hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, his bangs were a little above his grey eyes. He was a little shorter than both Kensei and Love, heck, he was the shortest boy in their group of friends. He had a slender build and wouldn't seem like much of a threat during a fight, or so people thought. Shinji was the type to always be in a good mood. He always had tons of energy, and he loved flirting with all the girls their age. He could be deadly serious and insightful when the occasion called for it, he was the most observant out of his friends. Shinji was wearing a black short-sleeved button-up shirt and a pair of light wash cargo shorts, held up by one of his usual black belts.

As the boys drew closer to their friend, Rose's lips stretched into a small smile. Finally, it felt like he'd been waiting for hours rather than fifteen minutes. He pushed himself up from the grass, dusting off the back of his shorts, and walked across the field to meet them halfway.

"Ooi Rojuro." Kensei greeted, throwing his hand halfway in the air. Rose smiled again, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Konnichiwa." he replied, nodding to the silver haired boy.

"So, do we have any plans for today?" Love asked, scratching his head. Rose shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

"I hoped you guys had some ideas, I couldn't think of anything." he admitted, Kensei bowed his head.

"It's so boring here." he grumbled, Shinji's lips stretched into a wide grin.

"Then let's run the streets, maybe we'll run into those jerk Ayuta boys." he suggested, chuckling.

"What's your reason for wanting to fight them _this _time?" Kensei inquired, sighing quietly.

Shinji always had some reason for fighting the red heads, they always wound up doing something to piss the blonde boy off. Kensei wasn't really surprised that something had happened, he just wondered what they'd done this time.

"They stole my soccer ball right outa my yard." Shinji complained, scowling to himself. "I wanna get it back."

Love chuckled, liking the sound of the idea of beating up on the jerk boys. Rose had told him how they always picked on his little sister, Kaori. Sure Kaori got on the dark-skinned boy's nerves all the time, but he looked at her like a little sister as well. Rose was his best friend so he felt obligated to defend her all the time, even if it meant having to put up with her obnoxiousness every day.

"Let's go find them then." Rose ordered, wanting to get revenge on the Ayuta boys.

Shinji looked at the blonde boy curiously, he usually wasn't one to agree on beating up on people, he normally tried to find a way to verbally solve a problem rather than a physical way. Why was he all of a sudden ready to go hunt down these boys? Sure they were jerks and completely obnoxious, but Rose was the type that avoided conflict as much as he could. Shinji wondered what they'd done to make Rose want revenge.

"Did they do somethin to ya Rojuro?" he inquired, Rose gave a short nod in reply.

"They pissed me off." Rose told them, Shinji's jaw dropped.

Rose wasn't one to swear either, this _had _to be something extreme. The Ayuta boys were going to get hell for sure if Rose was swearing, today seemed like it would wind up being quite the eventful day.

"Does it have to do with Kaori?" Kensei inquired, knowing Rose was always up for defending his younger twin. Rose nodded, his eyes narrowing into a glare.

"They're always picking on her." he stated, sounding angry. "Last night she came home with a twisted ankle because she wound up tripping from running away."

Shinji narrowed his eyes in annoyance at Rose's explanation. He'd never met Rose's younger sister, but he felt that anyone who picked on girls was scum. He was so ready to help Rose get revenge, these guys were going down.

"Let's go find em then." he instructed, the other three boys nodded in agreement.

They walked out of the fields, moving across the district until they made it into the busy streets. As they walked, they attempted to make up a plan of some sort. They weren't having any real luck though, depending on the Ayuta boy's location, their plan could be a failure. They finally just decided on just cornering them some where, doing some decent threatening, maybe a little fight was in order if they weren't willing to listen.

"Do you think they'll listen?" Kensei asked, placing his hand behind his head. Love shrugged, moving his sunglasses from slipping down his nose.

"Prolly not." Shinji complained, shoving his hands in his pockets. "They're the type that don't listen to nuthin."

"We'll just have to beat it into them then."

Kensei and Shinji snapped their heads to Rose, slightly surprised at his sudden change in personality. Love rolled his eyes, nodding in agreement. He knew how Rose was whenever it came to Kaori, he was always defending her. Even his personality would change when she came into the picture, Love just guessed they just had some weird sibling bond thing. He wouldn't know, he didn't have any siblings.

"Dang Rojuro, you must really love this Imouto of your's." Shinji drawled, Rose nodded curtly.

"I'm sick of them." he said honestly, Kensei sighed quietly.

"We'll kick their butts." Love promised, Rose smirked a little. "I wonder where they'd be around this time."

"Picking on some girl more than likely." Kensei grumbled, Shinji made a hissing noise.

"Girls are lil treasures, teasin's different then being down right rude. Why would they enjoy picking on em? " he inquired, not enjoying talking about those boys.

How could any boy hit a girl and not feel guilty about it afterwards, he didn't understand those red heads in the least. Rose shrugged, not having a real answer to give his blonde friend, and wrinkled his nose.

"Their reiatsu is pathetic as well." Shinji observed.

"How can you tell?" Rose questioned, the blonde boy shrugged.

"Just can." he said shortly, Rose nodded a little.

Shinji was rather talented when it came to sensing reiatsu, he was currently trying to teach his friends how to do it. It was a little harder than he'd thought at first, explaining the way to do it was quite complicated.

"After this, what say we eat?" Love suggested, Kensei nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I'm starving." he complained. Rose nodded again, smiling at his friends.

"Oka-san already made dinner a little early, all we need to do is heat it up. She and Otou-san had some things to do, they won't be back until later tonight." he informed them, Love nodded.

"Sleepover?" Kensei asked, Rose nodded.

"If you all want."

"Sounds fun." Love said, sighing quietly.

"I wanna meet yer Imouto too." Shinji said, making a clicking noise with his tongue. "I'm the only one that hasn't met her yet."

"Yeah, you're always in trouble and can't hang with us." Kensei pointed out, Shinji made a face at him.

"So what? Everyone thinks they can take me in a fight." he reminded them, Rose rolled his eyes up towards the cloud clad canopy. "They always lose." Love chuckled quietly, a hand going behind his head.

"We have a good chance of winning this fight then, we've all never lost in a fight." he stated, Kensei let out a breath.

"Cause none of our opponents are even worth mentioning." he said boredly, Rose nodded. "They don't know how to fight."

"Just because your dad's a Shinigami doesn't mean anything Kensei." Rose retorted, the silver haired boy sighed again. "You had someone to teach you how to fight 'properly' when the rest of us taught ourselves."

"So true." Love mumbled, Shinji grinned in amusement.

"Eh shut up." Kensei muttered, Rose furrowed his brow. "No time to complain, we found them."

The four boys looked down the streets, their gazes locking on the four red haired Ayuta boys. They were all leaning against a wall, close to an alley, this would fit into their plans of corning them perfectly. Shinji smirked evilly, cracking his knuckles.

"Let the fun begin." he said with a chuckle.

Shinji watched the silver haired boy make his way into the crowds of people, easily hidden as he approached the red head's from the their right. Shinji watched Love slip into a side alley, taking the backstreets to he could make it behind the boys without being seen; he'd attack them from behind. Rose also made his way to blend in with the many people in the streets, going for their left. A wide grin made it's way onto the blonde's face as he went to walk straight towards them, he was going to be the distraction so the other three would manage to corner them.

Many of the adults watched the boys slipping into the crowds, but they made sure not to bother them. Fighting between the boys was common in all districts, they always tried to show each other up; it was none of their business in the first place. Shinji let out a quiet sigh, walking towards the Ayuta boys with his hands shoved in his back pockets. He was extremely pissed off about the whole soccer ball thing, but he was even more pissed off that they were picking on one of his friend's siblings. Sure he didn't know this Kaori girl, but he hated it that these boys were being mean to a girl. Like he'd told his friends, girls were little treasures, being mean to them was just out of the question. These red heads were going to get a piece of his mind.

Said red heads, looked up from kicking the soccer ball around, smirking when they saw the Hirako boy walking towards them. They could see the pissed off look on his face, he must've wanted that soccer ball back from them, he wasn't getting it without a fight though. With him outnumbered a good four to one, they were positive they would manage to kick the skinny boy's ass. The eldest out of the boys, Aki, took a step forward to meet the blonde. Shinji came to a stop, watching his friends out of the corner of his eye as they got into position.

"What'd ya want Hirako?" Aki snapped, Shinji narrowed his eyes.

"My soccer ball obviously." Shinji scoffed, the youngest boy narrowed his eyes.

"Like we'll give it back." Yuudai said with an obnoxious tone, Shinji glared darker.

Out of all the Ayuta boys, Yuudai was the most annoying. He didn't understand how any of the red heads managed to put up with this brat, his attitude was shit and his voice was annoying as fuck. Did they only manage to get along because they were related?

"I just came to see if we could come to an agreement of some sort." Shinji said, sounding bored. He shrugged his shoulders a little, Yuudai growled quietly at the blonde.

"Yuudai, stop it." Toru, the second youngest, ordered. Toru looked at Shinji with a skeptical look, he knew he was planning some type of blackmail. The real question though, was what would it be? "If we don't give it back?" Shinji rolled his eyes, what a pointless question. These guys should've known the obvious answer.

"I'll tell yer Oka-san." he said bluntly, Koji flinched.

He knew their mother was against stealing, she _really _frowned upon it. If she found out they were stealing _again_, he didn't want to imagine what she would do to looked at his older brother, mentally pleading that they just give the soccer ball back to the blonde. Aki sighed seeing the look his brother was giving him, nodding a little in agreement. They couldn't afford to get on their mother's bad side today, especially since she was already in a bad mood.

"Fine Hirako." He kicked the soccer ball to Shinji, the blonde stopping it with the heel of his foot.

"There's somethin else-" he started, Yuudai growled again.

"We didn't steal anything else, go the fuck away." he shouted, interrupting him; Toru put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Shut up." he said boredly, Koji sighed.

"What is it?" he inquired, Shinji's glare darkened.

"Stop with beaten up on the girls around here." he ordered, that's when they all burst into laughter. Shinji raised a slender eyebrow, not looking amused in the least.

"Why's it any of your business what we do?" Aki teased, Shinji crossed his arms over his chest.

"Otoribashi." he said simply, Koji chuckled quietly.

"Oh, that little brat. She deserves it." he said with an amused tone.

Shinji narrowed his eyes angrily, no girl deserved to be beat up on, now was the time.

The blonde boy kicked the ball over into the alley, his friends jumping to surround the redheads at the signal. The Ayuta boys looked around with surprised expressions, mentally cursing at the fact that they were now surrounded. Aikawa Love, Muguruma Kensei, Hirako Shinji, and even Otoribashi Rojuro; this wasn't looking good for them. Rojuro was the Otoribashi girl's older brother, they were fucked.

"Kuso." Toru mumbled, Shinji smirked.

"Told ya to stop beaten up on the girls. We'll make ya if we hafta." he swore, Yuudai snarled angrily. "What's it gonna be huh?"

"Got to hell." Koji spat, Rose narrowed his eyes into a heated glare.

"You're gonna pay for hurting my Imouto." he warned, Love nodded in agreement.

"You might just wanna apologize." he suggested, shrugging a little. "We won't take it easy on you."

Even though the red headed boys knew that these guys would more than likely kick their asses, their pride wouldn't allow them to back down without at least _attempting_ to win the fight. They would fight until they couldn't fight anymore, that was their way of doing things.

"We'll make you a deal." Aki told them, Kensei narrowed his eyes.

"What kind of deal?" he inquired, Aki smirked.

"If you guys win, we won't bother Otoribashi anymore. If _we_ win, you can't stop us from doing whatever we want to the girls around here." he said, Shinji nodded.

"Fine, don't go home crying when we kick your asses." he taunted, Yuudai growled.

"Let's go then." he shouted, Love sighed.

This was going to be such a pointless fight, he knew they couldn't get out of it now, this was just going to be such a waste of their energy. They all ran towards each other, the fight unofficially starting. Shinji sighed quietly, not surprised that Yuudai came at him. This kid pissed him off, and the red head hated him for some reason. Did the blonde care, not really? He pulled his fist back, punching the boy in the face, kicked him in the shin, and kneed him in the stomach when he lost his balance. One down, three to go. Kensei dodged a punch from Toru, expertly slamming his fist into the side of the red head's face, and forcefully smashed his foot up into his ribcage. Another down, two left. Love caught a punch from Koji and threw a punch in his gut, he was out like a light. Last, but certainly not least, Rose versus Aki. Rose growled angrily, kicking the eldest redhead right in the chin, and punched him in the face. Aki staggered backwards, tripping and lost his balance. Rose kicked him in the stomach as he lay on the ground, glaring darkly at the boy.

"Heh, looks like we won." he mused, Aki groaned. "You better keep your promise. If I find out from anyone that you're still picking on Kaori, next time you'll wake up to find yourself stuffed in a trashcan."

The wavy haired blonde turned on his heel, heading down the street with his three friends. Shinji bounced his soccer ball on his head as they walked, feeling extremely bored since their battle had been won. What else could they do to occupy their time now?

"Well, that was pathetic." he said absentmindedly, Kensei nodded in agreement.

"No challenge." he grumbled. Rose smiled a little, happy that he'd been able to defend his little sister, and pounded his fist against Love's. "Can we go eat now?" Kensei inquired, feeling even _more _hungry after that fight of their's. "Feel like I'm gonna pass out."

"Eh, great." Love complained, sighing a little. "Now I feel like I will too, arigato Kensei." The silver haired boy rolled his eyes towards the clouds, scowling quietly to himself.

"Do ya think your Imouto will be happy ya kicked their asses for her?" Shinji asked curiously, Rose grimaced.

"Ano…probably not. She likes fighting her own battles, she gets angry when I defend her." he admitted, Shinji caught the ball in his left hand.

"She should understand four on one is losing grounds, specially since she's a girl." he pointed out, Rose chuckled.

"You don't know Kaori." he told him, Shinji rolled his grey orbs.

"I've never met her." he reminded him, stating the obvious. Love let out a hearty laugh for the first time that day, slapping Shinji on the back.

"You're in for a handful, she's quite the complicated chick." he stated, Kensei nodded in agreement with the dark skinned boy. "She'll drive you crazy with her antics."

"No girl's that bad." Shinji scoffed, Rose's eyes twinkled in amusement.

"You'll see." he said simply, Shinji raised an eyebrow.

Was this Kaori girl _that _interesting and different than other girls or something? Shinji sighed quietly, listening to his friends converse as they walked to Rose's house. He couldn't help but ponder over what Rose's sister was like. What did she look like? Blonde hair like Rose? Maybe it was just as wavy, short or long? Most girls around here had long hair, flowing out behind them normally. Would she have her brother's eyes? Or would they be blue? Girls with blue eyes and blonde hair were so cute and adorable in Shinji's opinion, he could just imagine her right now. He was expecting a shy and quiet girl, someone really sweet and nice, someone he could embarrass easily. He loved teasing girls and making them blush, it was so much fun for him, like his own game. This Kaori girl was going to be a riot, and he'd see her a good amount of the time since he and Rose always hung out together. Teasing her, now that would be fun.

Rose opened up the front door of his house, stepping inside. His friends followed in behind him, Kensei shutting the door. They all slipped their shoes off together, heading down the hallway towards the kitchen after Shinji had placed his soccer ball next to his shoes. They all came to a stop hearing a good number of loud crashing noises come from the kitchen, Love sighed quietly.

"Kaori." he grumbled, Rose pushed open the door to the kitchen.

One of the top cabinets was open, all the pots that had once been in it were nowhere to be found in the cabinet. The pots were lying all over the floor, a few had managed to catch on the counter. Why wasn't the blonde surprised that his sister had managed to make the kitchen a mess? They all stepped into the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind them. Rose chuckled hearing a soft groan come from the direction of the table, poor Kaori. She must've fallen off the counter or something. Shinji held his breath, mentally counting to ten in anticipation; this was the moment.

"Kaori." Rose called.

A girl's face popped up from behind the table, Shinji's heart seemed to stop in his chest. She was adorable, the cutest girl he'd ever seen in his life. Her spring green hair was shortly cut, hanging an inch or so below her collarbone. Her hair was pulled down into low pigtails at her neck, held loosely by some white hair bands. Her olive green eyes were entrancing, and her skin was a creamy white color. She was wearing what looked like a white spaghetti strapped shirt and a purple open long sleeved button up. Her eyes lit up when she saw he brother, along with all his friends, she was guessing there would be a sleepover tonight. She giggled softly, bolting around the table. Now that she was closer, Shinji could see that the girl was wearing a pair of orange basketball shorts, her clothes didn't match at all.

"Rose!" she exclaimed, latching onto her older brother. The three boys gave her a blank stare, what was a Rose?

"Rose?" Kensei questioned, Kaori looked at the silver haired boy.

"Duh!" she said bluntly. "That's what I just said baka Kensei."

Kensei narrowed his eyes at the younger girl's tone of voice, she was talking to him like he was stupid. She actually _did _call him an idiot, that little brat; he was going to get her for that one day.

"Her nickname for me." Rose explained, returning his sister's hug.

"You make no sense kid." Love laughed, she shoved him.

"Neh, says you." she teased, sticking her tongue out at her twin's best friend.

Kaori moved away from hugging her brother, her eyes finding Shinji's grey ones. She'd never met this boy before, was this the Shinji boy her brother and Love mentioned during their sleepover conversations and such? If so, then she would have a ton of fun with this. Her brother would flip.

"Gosh Rose, you've never brought him here before." Kaori pointed out, Rose nodded.

"Yeah, I know Kaori. Kaori, this is Hirako Shinji-" he started.

"I know exactly who he is." she interrupted, a smile coming to her lips.

The four boys gave her a blank stare, not understanding what she was saying. What did she mean she knew who Shinji was? If he'd never been brought to Rose's house before, then when had she met him…and _where_? The boys were so confused, but none were as confused as Shinji right now. Shinji blinked dumbly…huh? He'd never met this girl before in his entire life, how did she know him if he didn't know her?

"Ano…" he mumbled.

Kaori turned to Shinji, putting her hands on her hips. She leaned close to him, studying him for a second before a triumphant grin came on her face. Shinji took a step back at her closeness, wondering what was going on in the green haired girl's head. Normally girl's weren't bold enough to get that close to a boy, but she didn't seem all that uncomfortable with the lack of personal space. Sure he didn't mind, she was incredibly adorable…but he was more confused than he'd ever been in his whole life. How did this girl know him?

"Oh yeah, it's you alright." she said with a smirk.

"Ano…how do you know him Kaori?" Kensei inquired, sounding hesitant. Kaori looked over her shoulder at her brother and his two friends before turning her gaze back to Shinji.

"Well…it's a long story-" she started, Love groaned loudly.

"Then give us a summary will ya?" he interrupted.

"Fine fine." Kaori complained, mentally sighing.

She smiled sweetly at Shinji before taking a step forward and standing next to him. She latched onto his arm, hugging it, and leaned her head on his shoulder. Shinji blinked, feeling especially dumbfounded, and the girl said

"He's my first love."

"NANI!?"

And then they all flipped out, leaving Kaori to laugh about how they couldn't take a joke.

* * *

**Author's Note: Ahaha, I loved writing this. It was oodles of fun, and no...I didn't mean to say noodles. Basically, I'll be having little random "extra's" as I like to call them throughout this story. These do not really mess with the story line I'm going for or anything like that, they're just my own little scenes that I thought would be interesting to have in the story. You know? They go a little further back than the Gotei 13 stuff and show more of how the childhood relationship was between all the Visoreds, mainly focusing on Kaori and Shinji in the other extra's...hopefully. I just, thought it'd be kinda fun. I won't be demanding reviews for the extra chapters, just for the regular ones. So I hope you all enjoyed this, be expecting the next chapter chapter next week some time.**


	8. Chapter Six: Heartbreak

I turned over on my side, still crying to myself. My pillow was drenched in my salty tears, and I knew my sheets were all snotty and gross. I'd been crying, nonstop for hours on end. I knew it was around eight in the morning of the next day, the day after I caught Shinji lip locking with a member of my division…I couldn't make myself get out of bed. I was so miserable and all I was thinking about, was Shinji kissing that little slut. How much he looked like he was enjoying kissing her, the way he was holding her, his fingers tangled in her hair. I coughed, choking a bit from lack of air, and cried harder. I knew I had a meeting with the other taichous and fukutaichous at nine this morning, but I couldn't drag myself there. Shinji would be there, standing beside me, and he was the last person I wanted to see right now. I knew Yamamoto-Soutaichou would be angry with me for missing _another_ meeting, but I couldn't bear to be in the same room as Shinji right now. Let alone standing right beside him, I couldn't go. I just couldn't. I moved half my face out of my pillow, hearing a knock at my door.

"Who is it?" I called, choking on my words.

"Otoribashi-Taichou, we need to head to the meeting." Youta said. He sounded confused at my tone of voice, but he didn't open the door. I was thankful for that, I couldn't let him see me like this.

"Go away." I yelled, burying my face in my pillow.

"Taichou?" Youta asked, sounding rather upset. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." I snapped, crying a little bit. "Just go away."

"Taichou, if you're upset-" he started.

"Damn it Youta, just leave me alone. Go take notes at the meeting for me." I ordered, clutching my pillow tighter.

"Taichou." I heard him whisper, he sounded so worried about me.

"Tell Yamamoto-Soutaichou that I'm not feeling well, and I couldn't attend." I said sadly, wiping under my nose with the back of my hand.

"Demo…Taichou please. Talk to me, what's wrong?" Youta asked, I shook my head to myself.

"Just go…please." I whispered, crying into my pillow.

I heard his footsteps getting softer and didn't hold back my pain any longer. I cried harder, shrieking, and choking. I kicked my feet, pounded my fists against my mattress, and sat up throwing my pillow against the wall. I wrapped my arms around my body, hugging myself, trying to keep from falling apart anymore than I already was. I placed my forehead against my knees, tears still rolling down my cheeks. I licked my lips, letting out a gasp of pain…emotional pain. I groaned quietly, hating that I was so weak right now, and wiped at my tears. It was Shinji for god's sake, why was I getting so upset over _him_? I really needed someone to talk to right about now, but I knew I couldn't talk to anyone. I didn't want people jumping down my throat, saying things like "Oh so you like him then" or "Shinji…wow. How can you like someone like him" or "Ha ha, you've gone so soft Kaori" or "What the hell's wrong with you, it's _Shinji._" Yeah, I definitely couldn't take any of that.

I swallowed, trying to get the lump out of my throat, and looked up from my knees to stare at the wall. I needed to calm down and pull myself together. I was a Taichou, I couldn't let my subordinates see me breaking down like this. They looked to me for strength and support, I needed to be strong for them, rather than for myself. I absentmindedly licked my lips, running my forearm over my eyes to wipe my tears away. I just needed to relax and breathe. Maybe a shower would help me calm myself down. I cautiously let go of my sides, just waiting for myself to fall apart, and let out a sigh of relief when I didn't. I slid out from under the covers of my bed and trudged into the bathroom. I sighed to myself throwing my uniform into the floor and got in the shower.

I washed my hair, washed my body, making the process last as long as I could. I ran my strawberry smelling shampoo through my hair a good four times, trying to relax. I licked my lips, staring down at the floor of the shower. The water droplets were running down my arms, my legs, dripping off of strands of my hair, managing to distract me from all the pain I felt. I knew I couldn't delay much longer and got out of the shower. I dried myself and my hair, not really feeling anything but heartache, and head back in my room. I didn't really think about what I was dressing in, not really caring what I was wearing…even if I walked across Seireitei in my nightdress. I looked at my reflection, not really understanding how I managed to get in my Shinigami uniform when I was this emotionally messed up, and ran a comb through my wet hair. I shook my hair around making it look messy, and kept it hanging around my face. I swallowed, ignoring how red and puffy my eyes looked, and walked out of my bedroom.

I head down the hallways of the tenth division sullenly. I was so upset that Shinji had done this to me, and I didn't understand why I was so upset in the first place. It wasn't like I was dating him or like I was his girlfriend. I didn't understand why it was hurting me so much, just thinking about how he was kissing _her_. I clenched my fists angrily, digging my nails into my palms. I didn't really feel the pain when my nails broke through my skin, I was passed heartbroken and _pissed off_. Shinji would be begging for death when I was done with him, oh yes. He'd definitely be begging for death. I narrowed my eyes angrily, thinking about all the horrible things I would do to him. He'd completely hurt me by doing this, and I was going to make sure he paid. I bit down on my lower lip thinking, my nails still digging into my palms.

Now that I actually thought about it with a level head…more pissed off than level headed actually…no. Shinji wasn't the one that needed to be punished for this. That stupid slut, Kazuma Satomi, was the one that needed to be punished. She should've came to me, asking if she could date one of my friends. Did she, fuck no. I was going to make sure her life in the tenth division would be hell, she'd be begging to resign by the time I was done with her. Why did Shinji like her in the first place? She wasn't pretty in the least, she was way too skinny for her own good, she looked fucking anorexic. Her hair wasn't pretty at all, those shitty curls of hers looked like a fucking rat's nest. Her eyes, brown eyes with brown hair…no. It looked awful, her _face_ looked awful. All those little freckles, and how she was almost exactly the same height as him. No way, she did _not_ look good with Shinji. She was a whore and knowing everything I'd heard about her from the other division members, she _used _men. There was no way I was going to let her use one of my friends, there was no way in _hell._

I clenched my jaw angrily, grinding my teeth. I felt my nails scrape against my palms and finally managed to dig my nails out of my palms. I looked at my hands, sighing to myself. A few droplets of blood, tons of scratch marks down my palms, red and irritated skin. I was _so _pissed off. I glared at my palms before I looked up, strutting down the hallway still pissed off. I got ready to go around a corner and stopped hearing

"Matte! You're seeing Hirako Shinji? As in, _the_ Hirako Shinji? Taichou of division five?" a girl's voice asked, another girl giggled.

"Mhm, and he's an awesome kisser." Satomi…I narrowed my eyes angrily. "Our stupid taichou walked in on us though, I think it could've went a little further if Otoribashi hadn't walked in."

"Really? You mean like, touching and stuff?" the other girl asked.

"Yeah, his hands were all over me a few minutes before she walked in." Satomi said, sounding like it was obvious that it would've went further than kissing. "Stupid taichou. Don't even know why Hirako talks to her, she's so ugly."

"Agreed." I locked my jaw and strode around the corner. Both girls turned, their gaze locking on me. "Otoribashi-Taichou." Chikayo exclaimed.

Her stupid long pink hair and stupid bright blue eyes, she was just as much of a whore as Satomi. Both girl's bowed their heads in respect, and I resisted the urge to pull their hair out like I wanted. They both had just gotten on my bad side, this wasn't good for them at all. They both glanced up, and I continued standing there with my arms crossed over my chest. They lowered their eyes, and I strode passed them saying

"Follow me, now."

"Hai taichou." they both said unison, following behind me.

I didn't hear them saying anything behind me, and I smirked to myself. They thought I was ugly huh? Well, let's see how much they liked this. I slid the door of my office open, walking in. They followed me in and I walked around to my desk, plopping down in my seat. I wrote a quick message to Unohaha and dropped it in a folder, looking up at the both of them. They both stood there, arms folded infront of them respectfully. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at how bad of actresses they both were.

"Unohana-Taichou is sending a few of her division down into the tunnels to do some cleaning." I said, smirking a little. "I would like you to take this to Unohana-Taichou, you'll be assisting her division in this cleaning."

"Demo, taichou…" Chikayo exclaimed. "I just got my nails manicured."

"Yeah and we have perms scheduled for later this afternoon." Satomi whined, trying to get out of the order.

"Oh, that's too bad isn't it?" I teased, holding the folder out to them. "It's a good thing there's such a thing as rescheduling then huh, Unohana-Taichou will appreciate your help."

"Demo-" They both shut their mouths at my ice cold glare, and Chikayo took the folder from my fingers. "Hai taichou." they both said in unison, bowing their heads. I smirked to myself, leaning back in my chair.

"You may go." They both nodded, slowly backing out of the room. I glared at the two whores as they left my office and chuckled when the door slid shut.

'Stupid whores, shouldn't be messing with me. I'll pown their asses, call me ugly. At least my boobs aren't fake.' I wrinkled my nose angrily and glanced over the paperwork that had yet to be finished. I bit down on the inside of my jaw, grabbing the first folder, and opened it up. I went through my paperwork for a good while, filling it all out, and signing my signature to different documents. After what seemed like a good number of hours, I'd finished up my paperwork, and really had nothing to do. I was still extremely pissed off about everything that had happened, this stupid bitch didn't know who she was messing with. I was Otoribashi Kaori, taichou of the tenth division, complete and total badass, with a horrible temper. She had just pissed me off, and I would make sure to make her life hell if it was the last thing I did.

I looked up from my desk, hearing the door slide open and smiled when Youta walked in. He looked surprised to see me in here, I bet he'd been worried about me through the whole meeting. The poor kid, I felt bad for worrying him like I had; I needed to apologize. I opened my mouth to say something and the next thing I knew, he was on his knees beside my chair latched onto my waist, hugging me.

"I was so worried about you. What upset you so much, who hurt you, what'd they say to you? Please talk to me Kaori." he exclaimed, hugging me tightly.

I smiled slightly, knowing that he looked at me like an older sister, and moved closer to him, putting my arm around his shoulders. I hugged him with one arm, stroking the top of his head with my other hand. When he used my first name I knew he was upset, he hadn't used it very often but the few times he had, he'd been upset. I knew now, for sure, he'd been worrying over me. He leaned his head against my shoulder, still holding onto my waist, and I lightly kissed the top of his head.

"Youta calm down." I whispered, stroking his hair. "I'm fine now, it's alright." I heard him choke up when he tried to say something, and he nuzzled his face into my shoulder. "Shh, it's ok." I cooed, stroking his hair again.

We sat like that for a few minutes, me holding him and trying to calm him down until he managed to pull himself out of the hug. He stood up, looking slightly embarrassed with himself, and rubbed his arm.

"Ano, gomen nasai Otoribashi-Taichou." he apologized, avoiding my eyes. I smiled and took his hand.

"Youta, arigato for caring so much." I said quietly, he nodded still looking embarrassed. I smiled again, squeezing his hand, and turned back to my desk. I wrote an apology to Yamamoto-Soutaichou, for missing the meeting, and handed it to Youta. "Take this to Yamamoto-Soutaichou for me please." He nodded, handing me his notes from the meeting, and walked to the door. I opened up the notebook and heard

"Otoribashi-Taichou." I looked up towards Youta. "It'll all work out, I promise."

I nodded, smiling a little. I went back to the notebook and sighed hearing the door slide shut. He didn't have any idea what was going on, but he still supported me through it. I was lucky to have a fukutaichou like him. If I didn't…it would've been extremely lonely here in this office. I glanced over the notes from the meeting, not finding anything really worth reading, and tossed the notebook on my desk. I let a sigh pass through my parted lips and glanced over towards the sky. It looked like it normally did around the time that Shinji visited me…I could _not _see him right now. I needed to get out of this office before he got here. I grabbed a piece of paper, wrote a quick note to Youta, and hopped out of my seat. I scurried over to the window, swung my leg over the side, and _literally_ fell out the window.

"Itai!" I exclaimed, rubbing my butt.

I had such a habit of falling out the window, my butt was always sore now a days from the harsh landings. I pulled myself off the ground and quickly shunpoed over to the eighth division before Shinji made it to my office. I didn't really know why I felt the need to go talk to Kyōraku, but that's where I really wanted to go. It might have been from where he was my former taichou and all, I trusted him more than I trusted my brother on things like this. Rose would _kill _Shinji if he found out that I missed the meeting today because I was upset over Shinji. I knew that Kyōraku would feel sympathy for me, but he wouldn't attack Shinji like Rose would. If I asked Kyōraku to keep his mouth shut, I knew he would, and I guess that's why I trusted him so much. He was like…my best friend…besides Shinji. But I very well couldn't tell Shinji that he'd upset me, that'd be just plain weird. I hopped up onto the roof of the eighth division building I knew Kyōraku would be on, and he raised his hat a bit. He looked surprised to see me, especially since I had been "sick."

"Kaori-chan." he said, sitting up. His pink haori flew behind him a little when he'd sat up, he tilted his head to the side, looking at me. "Feeling any better?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, walking across the roof towards my former taichou. I plopped down beside him, closer than I normally would've, and drew my knees to my chest, placing my chin on them afterwards. I could feel my hair blowing around in the wind as my eyes stared straight ahead, I didn't know why I was even here if I couldn't make myself talk to Kyōraku. I felt him place his arm around my shoulders, and I let out a soft sigh.

"What's the matter Kaori-chan?" he asked, rubbing my arm with his thumb. I lowered my eyes from the sky and said apathetically

"He's a baka, I hate him." I didn't have to look to know he'd nodded. He most likely didn't have any clue who I was talking about, but I knew he'd ask.

"Who do you mean Kaori-chan?" he inquired. "Surely you don't mean your Oni-chan." I shook my head, my hair flying all over the place.

"No, not Rose." I whispered, I knew he nodded again.

"Then who?"

I looked away from the roof and up into Kyōraku's face. I felt my lower lip trembling and before I could stop myself, I latched onto him crying. He sighed to himself, holding me against him, and stroked the top of my head.

"Shh, calm down Kaori-chan. It'll all be ok, he'll come around." Kyōraku whispered, hugging me tightly. I nodded sullenly, burying my nose in his haori, still crying softly.

Why the hell had Shinji done this to me? I didn't understand what I'd done to deserve this. That little slut he was with was just using him. I knew Shinji wasn't a stupid man, but this was definitely the stupidest thing he'd ever done in all my years of knowing him. How could he be so blind? What did he see in her that he liked? Why the hell did have to act all different towards me and get me all confused? If he hadn't done that I wouldn't be hurting the way I was right now. I'd be just like "Oh, Shinji's dating someone from my division. Huh, I wonder how long this'll last." I couldn't think anything like that though because I was heartbroken. The anger had turned back into heartbreak, and I knew after a while the heartbreak would turn back into anger. I couldn't keep myself from being angry and pissed off at him for doing this, but I couldn't keep myself from feeling heartbroken and betrayed. It'd just be going in a cycle. Heartbreak, anger, heartbreak, anger, heartbreak, anger. I just wanted to stop feeling this way, but I knew that it'd be along while before any of this hurt stopped.

I sniffed again, hiding my face in Kyoraku's haori. Why was Shinji such a bastard?

* * *

_**The pendulum swings forward. **_

_**The story rewinding backwards to the past will pause for an instant, so that we may take a look back into the future. **_

_**The decisions made during the present, will greatly affect future events.**_

* * *

"Did you all feel that reiatsu last night?"

Everyone moved their eyes away from whatever they were doing, to Love. I nodded in acknowledgement to him, turning my gaze away from the television. This stupid Kanonji Don didn't know what he was doing, he was a moron when it came to spirits and such. And the humans thought this was such a great show? Psht, whatever.

"I did, I was snacking on the pizza and got distracted for a good minute from how yummy it was." I reminisced, putting my finger to my cheek. Shinji poked my side saying

"Kaori-chan, we're tryin' ta be serious here." I looked over my shoulder at him sitting behind me…more like me sitting in his lap, my legs curled against me.

"I am being serious." I said, not wanting to let everyone know how much trouble Gyaku had caused me with his rambling. "It didn't really distract me all that much, just from the pizza." Shinji let out a sigh, seeming frustrated with me, and I giggled. "Gomen Shin-kun." He sighed again, kissing my cheek.

"Stupid reiatsu woke me up." Hiyori complained, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'd finally gotten ta sleep after you two stopped with yer screamin and shit…" I blushed slightly, I hated when it was broadcasted around the group that I'd had sex with Shinji. "…And that Kurosaki boy's reiatsu just went fuckin' crazy, like it just all suddenly upped in power." I nodded, licking my lips.

"I noticed that too." Lisa said, looking up from her magazine. "There was another powerful reiatsu."

"It wasn't a Shinigami." Rose pointed out. "Do you think it could've been one of those Bount things?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Shinji said seriously, keeping his arm around my waist.

"How'd the kid's reiatsu increase so much though?" Kensei asked. I lowered my eyes, lightly biting down on my lower lip. I wanted to let them know…but I couldn't.

"Kaori-chan, are you okay?" Mashiro asked, seeing how uncomfortable I was. I could feel all eyes land on me…great.

"Ano…yeah. This pointless show's just distracting me, gomen." I lied, scratching my ear.

Shinji moved his free hand from dangling over the back of the couch, to resting on my leg near my knee. He tapped my knee twice, part of our silent code, saying "We'll talk about this later." I licked my lips, mentally cursing myself for being so obvious around him. He always managed to see through my lies, even if my voice sounded dead serious. I let a quiet sigh pass through my lips and entwined my fingers with Shinji's, thinking about the crazy reiatsu from last night.

"It seems as though he's gotten stronger." Hachigen stated, drawing my attention back to the conversation.

"Eh, not by too much." Hiyori scoffed, not all that interested in everything going on with the Bounts. Then it got quiet, besides the sound of the television, and the random turning of pages in a magazine and a book.

"It's drawing closer." I whispered, I could feel everyone's eyes flick to me. "Hougyoku will be awakened soon, the war…it's so much closer…after all these years." I could feel everyone's spirits just drop, thinking about everything that had happened to us in Soul Society. I felt Shinji's lips against my hair, pressing against my head.

"We'll win." he said, sounding determined. "Aizen _will_ pay."

I nodded in agreement and turned, laying my head on his chest; I just wanted him to hold me for a little while. Shinji placed his arms around my waist, holding me close to him protectively, and nuzzled his cheek against the top of my head. I sighed contently, wishing I hadn't brought this up, but there was no way around it. Everyone had been thinking it, that's all most of us really thought about now a days. I was just the one that had the courage, or complete stupidity, to say it out loud. I opened my eyes, running my finger over his red tie absentmindedly. He pressed his lips against my forehead, and Hiyori groaned loudly.

"If yer gonna do that, get the hell outa here." she snapped, not liking how affectionate we were towards each other.

She still hadn't gotten used to it after all these years, I didn't get why she thought it was weird to just be even a _little _affectionate infront of everyone. I guess I'd never really understand what was going on in Hiyori's head, I didn't think anyone ever would. She was just…Hiyori.

"Shaddup boge." Shinji said boredly, playing with a strand of my hair. I giggled but it turned into a full out laugh when Hiyori hit him in the back of the head with one of her sandals. "Itai." Shinji whined, sounding just too adorable. I rolled my eyes, kissing his cheek.

"Poor thing." I taunted, he glared slightly. I giggled, poking his cheek, and said "Kensei, I'm hungry." He sighed, looking away from polishing his Zanpakuto to me.

"What do you want me to do about it Kaori?" he asked, knowing exactly what was coming.

"Cook me something yummy, please Kensei." I asked, sounding incredibly sweet...and manipulative. He sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Can you wait another ten minutes?" he asked, I shrugged.

"It'll take you a while to fix dinner anyway, what's another few minutes?" I asked nonchalantly. He nodded, taking that as a yes, and resumed to polishing his Zanpakuto.

"What would you like me to make?" he asked, focusing on his polishing. I tilted my head to the side, thinking, and chewed on the inside of my jaw.

"Ano…ano…anooooooo-"

"Damn it Kaori, stop it." Love complained. "I'm reading." I rolled my eyes and wrinkled my nose.

"I'm thinking out loud damn it." I explained, not at all amused with him being an asshole.

"Well stop with the anos." he ordered, returning his gaze to the manga. I smirked evilly and said

"I really don't know Kensei, ano…ano…ano…anoooooooooooooooooooo-"

"Fuckin' shut up Kaori." Love snapped, I glared darkly.

"You wanna fight or somethin? I'll own your ass." I stated, jumping to my feet. I felt Shinji's hands grab both sides of my waist, and he pulled me back into his lap.

"Shaddup, quit bein' bitchy." he said, not sounding all that amused. I glared slightly, crossing my arms pouting.

"He started it!" I whined, pointing my finger accusingly. Love glared behind his sunglasses and Shinji gently took my hand, kissing my knuckles.

"Come on love, calm yerself down." I rolled my eyes, leaning my back against his chest. "Please." he whispered, sounding seductive.

I almost moaned feeling him kiss that sensitive spot on my neck but forced myself not to. I licked my lips absentmindedly, I was starting to get turned on, and he'd barely even touched me. Apparently this week was the week that we were supposed to be catching up on our sex, since last month we hadn't done anything. I bit down on my lip and forced myself to stand up, taking his hands in mine.

"Can I talk to you about something?" I asked, sounding serious. He nodded with a smirk, knowing what he'd just done to me, and stood up. We walked towards the stairs, me leading him by the hand, and Kensei said

"Dinner'll be about an hour Kaori." I nodded, looking at him over my shoulder.

"Arigato Kensei." I said sweetly.

Shinji and I walked up the stairs together, walking down the hallway. My room was closest so that's where we were going, I needed him inside me _now_. I opened the door to my room, leading Shinji inside, and he shut the door behind him. As soon as the door shut, I pushed him against the door, roughly pressing my lips against his. He chuckled against my lips, placing his hand on the small of my back, and played with the hem of my skirt. I moaned, feeling his tongue rubbing against mine and ripped my lips away from his, biting down on his neck. He groaned in pleasure, pushing me around to where I was pressed against the door instead. I looked at him, feeling extremely turned on, and pulled his lips down on mine. I kissed him fiercely, all the while untying his tie and felt his hand slip under my shirt, up my back. I moaned, loving feeling even the _smallest_ amount of his skin against mine.

I dropped his tie in the floor, working on unbuttoning his shirt. I got the few buttons near the collar of shirt unbuttoned before he ripped his lips back from mine and pinned my arms against the door. I looked at him slightly dazed, waiting for him to kiss me or touch me, but he didn't do either. I stared at him impatiently, trying to pry my wrists out of his grip, nothing. He chuckled, loving that he was teasing me so much, and said

"We need ta talk Kaori." I nodded in agreement, pressing my chest against his.

"Sex now, talk later." I demanded, kissing his neck. He moaned slightly, loving the feel of my lips against his neck, but pulled away from my lips. I pouted, realizing I wouldn't be able to kiss him now, and said "Nani?"

"What happened last night?" he asked seriously, I tilted my head to the side innocently.

"I don't know what you're talking about Shinji." I said, leaning forward to kiss him. He shook his head, moving away from me, but still managing to keep me pinned against the door.

"Talk Kaori." he ordered, I pursed my lips.

"There's nothing _to_ talk about." I exclaimed, slightly annoyed. "Nothing happened."

"You know what happened." he stated, sounding frustrated with me. "When Kensei mentioned the kid's reiatsu shooting up, ya got fidgety. Ya know somethin." I looked down, knowing that he was going to find out sooner or later about my Hollow talking to me.

"It's nothing…" I whispered. He sighed, realizing he wasn't going to get anywhere with this. I smiled, feeling him press his lips against my neck and moaned when he bit down on that sensitive spot of mine. "Shinji."

"Tell me." he ordered, biting harder. I groaned, pressing my chest against his.

"His…Hollow was controlling him." I said quietly, groaning again.

"How'd ya figure this out Kaori-chan?" he asked, sucking down on the spot afterwards. I closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the door in bliss.

"Gyaku told me." I mumbled, moaning quietly. He sighed, pulling back from my skin. "Don't stop." I pleaded, opening my eyes. "Please Shin-kun." I met Shinji's eyes, and he shook his head at me.

"Why're ya talkin' to him?" he asked, not sounding happy; I shook my head.

"I'm not, he just…came." I said quickly, not wanting to upset him. "I didn't want to talk to him, but he just showed up." Shinji sighed, not liking that Gyaku was bothering me, and gently pressed his lips against mine.

"I love you Kaori." I smiled into the kiss, mumbling

"I love you too."

He moved away from my lips, lightly biting down my neck. I moaned quietly, happy that he wasn't going to stop just because of the whole Gyaku thing, and ripped my wrists out of his grip. I grabbed onto his shirt, continuing with unbuttoning it the rest of the way. I groaned, feeling him bite down harder, and his hand moved a little further up my skirt. I finished unbuttoning his shirt after what seemed like forever, and he tossed the shirt in the floor, kissing me again. I pressed my lips roughly against his, lightly running my fingernails down his chest; I knew it'd drive him crazy. He moaned quietly, moving his lips away from mine, and kissing below my jaw line. I leaned my head back against the door, unconsciously licking my lips. My arms hung limply around his neck, as he kissed his way up my neck. He seriously needed some motivation to speed things up though, I couldn't take this slow pace. I jumped up, wrapping my legs around his waist, and pressed my lips against his. He moaned, gently biting on my tongue, and pressed my body between the door and his.

Oh yeah, the sex was definitely going to be good.

* * *

**Author's Note: Haha, I lied last chapter. I decided to go ahead and add this earlier than "planned." Sorry if last chapter pissed you all off, I'll let you all know ahead of time when I decide I want to add another extra okays? I hope that makes things a little better for those of you who got pissed off at me. I still felt a little bad for Kaori whilst writing this chapter, the poor dear. Good thing Kyoraku's a good man huh? Alright, policy time...or drill time. Whichever you ****prefer to call it. I promise, no extra for the next chapter, pinky promise =] FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER!!!**

* * *

_PREVIEW: CHAPTER SEVEN_

_"Shinji?" He looked at me, wondering what I was going to say. "I was thinking…what're we gonna do about the winter battle exactly?" Everyone turned their attention to Shinji, we really hadn't talked about this. Shinji scratched his head in thought, and I continued with what I was saying. "I mean…I don't think those baka Shinigami will willingly let us fight along side them."_

_"Like we wanna." Hiyori mumbled. I nodded in agreement, taking a drink of my milk. I didn't really even want to fight along side the Shinigami, but I knew we had to in order to defeat Aizen._

_"I think Old Yama'll be happy to receive our support." Shinji said seriously. "They can't push us away if we're willing ta help 'em."_

_"I don't know Shinji, it is Soul Society." Lisa said._


	9. Chapter Seven: Poor Little Satomi

"Another amazing dinner cooked by, his majesty chef himself, Kensei!" I announced, sounding like a radio broadcaster. Kensei narrowed his eyes at me, and I giggled in amusement. "He he, gomen Kensei. I couldn't resist."

"Uh huh, sure." he mumbled, I wrinkled my nose.

"Shin-kun. Tell Kensei to play nice." I whined, latching onto Shinji's arm. Shinji grinned down at me for acting so childish and pressed his lips against my forehead. "Kensei's so grumpy today." I giggled, looking up into Shinji's eyes. "And before he was in such a good mood."

"Damn it Shinji, get her to shut up." Kensei raged angrily. "She's sounding like Mashiro right about now." Mashiro tilted her head to the side, looking at Kensei confused.

"Huh?" she asked, sounding rather ditzy.

"Nothing Mashiro." Kensei muttered, Mashiro poked his arm.

"Tell me Kensei." she said gleefully, he shook his head. That wasn't the best thing for him to do, here it came. "Waahaa, Kensei's a meanie!"

"Mashiro-chan, please calm down." Hachigen asked of her.

Mashiro shook her head, still whining about Kensei keeping secrets from her. I giggled in amusement, loving that I'd just caused havoc at dinner, and Hiyori glared at me. I didn't think she was too amused by it though.

"Shinji, ya better get yer girl ta shut her mouth." she ordered, sounding annoyed. Oh yeah, she definitely wasn't amused by this. "I'm not dealin' with this shit right now." I wrinkled my nose, narrowing my eyes at her.

"Oh really?" I teased, crossing my arms over my chest. "Or what?"

Hiyori's jaw locked in anger, and she pulled her fist back. I ducked behind Shinji, giggling as he took the blow, it was so funny how she never aimed for me. Why I'd ducked even though I knew she wasn't aiming for me…I didn't really know the answer to that one.

"GAH! Nani Hiyori!" Shinji exclaimed, grabbing his jaw. She glared at him, her arms folded across her chest.

"Get yer girl ta shut it." she demanded, pointing at me. I stuck my tongue out childishly and Shinji sighed quietly, taking my hand under the table.

"Kaori-chan." he said slowly, I looked at him with wide innocent eyes.

"Hai?" I asked, sounding incredibly cute. I watched his eyes widen a bit at my cute voice, and he leaned in close to my ear.

"Be good at dinner, and ya might just get somethin special after." he whispered, sounding _extremely _seductive. I nodded enthusiastically and went to munching on my piece of chocolate chip pie, I really wanted what he was offering. Sex with Shinji equals yummy.

"How'd you do that?" Love asked, wondering why I listened to Shinji as much as I did. Shinji smirked, running his fingers through my hair.

"Ya just hafta know the right things ta say." he said, sounding rather cocky. I hated when he did that, I didn't _always _listen to him. It was only when he offered sex…which was over half the time…damn I was whipped.

"Stop being a stuck up jerk." I snapped, shoving a fork full of pie in his mouth.

He glared at me, chewing the pie. I looked over towards the milk and reached across the table for it…no! Curse my shortness…curse Kensei for putting the milk so far down the table. I made a whiny noise, slightly frustrated with the milk being down so far, and Rose passed it to me. I smiled at him, filling my glass with milk.

"Arigato Oni-chan." I said sweetly, he chuckled.

"Your welcome Kaori." he said, ripping the manga out of Love's hand seconds later.

"Ooi! I wasn't finished with that." Love raged, trying to swipe the manga back from Rose.

"Well that's too bad." Rose argued, keeping the manga out of Love's reach.

"Everyone just calm down." Hachigen advised, they ignored him.

I giggled at the two of them fighting over the manga and turned my attention back to Shinji. I opened my mouth to say something to him, but he shoved a fork full of pie in my mouth for his revenge. I glared slightly, chewing up the delicious pie. It was so good, Kensei really needed to open his own restraunt or something. He was a pretty kick ass cook, I wish I was able to cook this well. I swallowed my pie and said

"Shinji?" He looked at me, wondering what I was going to say. "I was thinking…what're we gonna do about the winter battle exactly?" Everyone stopped with their arguing and such, turning their attention to Shinji, we really hadn't talked about this. Shinji scratched his head in thought, and I continued with what I was saying. "I mean…I don't think those baka Shinigami will willingly let us fight along side them."

"Like we wanna." Hiyori mumbled. I nodded in agreement, taking a drink of my milk. I didn't really even want to fight along side the Shinigami, but I knew we had to in order to defeat Aizen.

"I think Old Yama'll be happy to receive our support." Shinji said seriously. "They can't push us away if we're willing ta help 'em."

"I don't know Shinji, it _is _Soul Society." Lisa said, scratching her cheek in thought.

I nodded again, agreeing with Lisa, before drinking more milk. Soul Society was a bunch of pricks, they really pissed me off. They _could_ try to push our support away for all we knew, but they would only be screwing themselves over. We were powerful, and they _needed _our help. Shinji sighed to himself and said

"I need ta talk ta Kisuke a lil about it all. I'll update ya when I get some answers."

I chewed on my lower lip, before I forced myself to finish the pie on my plate and finish my milk. I stood up without another word and walked out of our little dining room. I walked up the stairs of the warehouse, doing a little bit of thinking. I was thinking a little bit about what Gyaku had said to me about the upcoming war, about how it would push us to our limits. I didn't know how much of all this I'd be able to handle. I didn't want anything bad to happen to any of my friends, especially my brother and Shinji. I was actually starting to wonder about how strong we all were when our inner Hollows were in control of us, wondering if we actually _were _stronger when they controlled us. I shook my head of the thought, I couldn't be questioning myself about _this _of all things. Gyaku was a slithering little snake, trying to get me to do whatever _he_ wanted, and I refused to listen to him. I wasn't going to let him control me.

I walked down the hallway, debating on whether or not I should go to my room or Shinji's room tonight. I finally shrugged, walking into my room to collect some clothes. I needed to be near him right about now. I didn't want to tell him about all the doubts I was having, I just wanted to spend some time with him. I didn't always want him to be my own personal shrink, I was happy with him just being my boyfriend…fiancé…husband…whatever you wanted to label us. We hadn't really actually ever labeled our relationship. It was like…when it started up in Soul Society, we hadn't felt the need to label ourselves. We were a couple, and that's it. We weren't boyfriend/girlfriend, fiancés, or husband/wife. We were just, Shinji and Kaori. A couple and in love.

I went through my dresser boredly, trying to find something to wear for the evening. Something that I didn't really like to wear. I had this feeling that Shinji and I would end up having some more rough sex, and I was actually looking forward to him ripping the clothes off my body. Why wear something that you like and never be able to wear it again? That's how I looked at it anyway. I finally just grabbed a pair of my navy blue basketball shorts and a plain white tank top. I grabbed my neon pink panties and matching bra (yeah I know, wearing neon pink under white isn't noticeable at _all_) and trudged out of my room. I walked down the hall to Shinji's room and opened the door without even bothering to knock.

Shinji was laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He grinned when he saw me, and I rolled my eyes to myself. I shut the door behind me, gracefully walking across the room to the bed and leaned over him, pecking his lips. His grin widened and he placed his hand behind my head, pulling my lips down against his. I moaned quietly, loving that he was such a good kisser, but forced myself to pull back from him. He looked at me with a slightly annoyed expression, and I turned my back to him, walking off towards his bathroom.

"Where the hell do ya think yer goin?" he asked. Yeah, he was totally pissed at me. He'd get over it though, he always did.

I ignored him, entering the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and dropped my "jammies" on the floor. I crossed the room to the bathtub and turned the knobs, feeling the water after. I turned on the cool water a bit more and smiled when the temperature was perfect. This bath was huge, all the baths in the warehouse were. With us having such a big place to live, we had plenty of room for anything we wanted. The bathtub actually reminded me of a hot spring in a way, size wise I mean. I moved away from the bath, looking through the cabinets for the cinnamon smelling bubbles I left in Shinji's bathroom. I loved bubbles, they were always so much fun.

I giggled, coming across the bottle and put some in the bath. I watched bubbles begin to form all through the tub and lightly clapped my hands in happiness. I put the bottle back in the cabinet and finally got around to turning the water off after the tub was full. I licked my lips, stripping myself of my clothing, and pulled my hair up into a high ponytail. It would still get wet since it was so long, but I didn't really care. I hopped in the bath, slowly lowering myself down into the water. I giggled, blowing at the bubbles floating ontop of the water, and slid backwards through the water. I sighed in bliss, loving the feel of the water. What temperature was it anyway?

"Kaori?" I opened my eyes, giggling at how confused Shinji looked. "What the hell…why're you…"

"I like your bath, it's bigger than mine." I said softly, smiling a bit. He rolled his eyes, and I tilted my head to the side innocently. "It's really nice." He raised an eyebrow, smirking at what I was trying to do.

"Uh huh." he said simply, I giggled to myself.

"The water's all warm." I teased, smiling sweetly. He nodded, still watching me with that same smirk. "You should definitely join me." He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

"What _am_ I gonna do with you?" he asked sarcastically. I slid closer to the edge of the bath, laying my arms across the edge of the tub. I rested my chin on my arms, staring at him.

"Fuck." I said simply, he chuckled.

"Perhaps." he said with a teasing tone. I wrinkled my nose playfully, placing my palms on the edge of the tub to lift myself out. I'd drag him in fully clothed if I had to. "Ah, no." I lowered myself back into the water.

"Nande Hirako-Taichou?" I asked, bringing up his old title. His eyes narrowed into a glare, but it was a playful glare.

"Turn." he ordered. I sighed, turning like he requested.

"It's not like I haven't seen everything." I mumbled to myself, crossing my arms over my chest pouting.

I leaned my head back, closing my eyes, my hair was already drenched so what was the harm? I almost jumped feeling his hands running down my sides, damn that was fast. I giggled to myself, turning to face him. Damn…again, he looked sexy as hell. How was it possible for someone to be wearing absolutely _nothing _and still be this sexy? I licked my lips, my eyes studying his chest. He raised an eyebrow at me and I sunk lower into the water, trying to hide my blush.

"Nani? Now yer tryin' ta hide?" he asked teasingly, I felt my cheeks going hotter.

"Shut it." I snapped, moving my face out of the water.

He moved slightly closer to me, I moved back, he moved closer, I moved back, he moved closer, my back hit the wall on the opposite end of the tub. Kuso! I smiled seductively at him and he slid his arm around my waist, pulling me against him. There were no parts of our bodies not touching, and even though he wasn't really doing anything to me, I was already getting turned on. He was just so perfect for me, he'd always been. Damn, this week really _was _all about sex. I groaned in pleasure when he roughly pressed his lips against mine. My arms went around his neck, without me even thinking about it; it was just such a immediate thing that happened anymore. He gently pressed my body against the wall, his hands sliding up my arms. I groaned again, lightly tugging on his tongue ring with my teeth, and gasped into his mouth feeling his hands on my breasts.

"Shinji." I moaned.

He chuckled, gently squeezing. I bit down on my lower lip, moaning softly. He kissed down the side of my face to my neck and lightly bit down on that sensitive spot of mine, all the while still caressing my breasts. I moaned again, feeling him squeeze harder, running his thumb over my nipple; I was feeling so lightheaded. Maybe it was just the heat from the water, yeah right. I moved one of my hands from around his neck and lightly ran my fingernails down his chest, tangling my other hand in his hair.

"Shinji, please." I begged, leaning my head back against the wall.

He chuckled again, moving one of his hands around to my back, pushing me closer to him. That was the main thing I loved about the water, it was so easy to move in. He gave my breast one last gentle squeeze and moved his hand down my ribcage. I pulled his lips against mine, kissing him with all the want and lust I was feeling right now. The only emotion in me right now that was more powerful than the lust, was the actual _love_ I felt for Shinji. We were kissing like our lives depended on it, all the passion we were feeling towards each other right now couldn't have been explained even if we wanted it to be. He nibbled on my lower lip, his hands grabbing my hips, and fully pressed his body against mine. He held me against him for a moment, passionately kissing me, before he slammed my body against the wall. Now I knew he was turned on.

His hands began relentlessly traveling all over my body. I groaned feeling him bite down on my collarbone, gasping when his fingers ran over my sensitive flesh. It always drove me crazy when he did that to me, teasing me by touching then pulling away. But I had a feeling he just was wanting to hear me scream for him, I'd do it without complaints. I wanted his touches and caresses, I felt like I _needed _them. I whimpered, digging my fingernails into his shoulders. I _really _wanted him to touch me again, he pulled back from my neck. There was a huge smirk on his face, but I wasn't really caring too much at the moment. I _needed _him to touch me.

"Nani Kaori-chan?" he taunted, that same smirk on his lips.

"Please." I begged quietly, he chuckled in amusement. He ran his tongue up my neck, saying

"Hmm?" I almost glared at how teasing he was being right now, but I couldn't make myself. I was _too _turned on to glare.

"Shinji, please touch me." I whined, running my fingernails over his shoulders down his chest. He hissed at the pain, biting on my neck harder. I groaned, moving closer into his touch.

"Gomen Kaori, didn't hear you love." he teased. I gasped in pleasure feeling his fingers wandering over my flesh again.

"Please, don't stop." I pleaded, he did.

I grabbed a handful of his hair, bringing his lips against mine, and wrapped my legs around his waist. I was tired of waiting for it, I wanted him right now. He groaned into the rough kiss, pressing my body harder against the wall. The next thing I knew, I was moaning in pure pleasure feeling him slide into me.

Oh yeah, this week was now _officially_ sex week.

* * *

_**The pendulum swings back. **_

_**The story barreling towards the future will stop for an instant, so that we may peer into the past. **_

_**Though it was only the briefest of moments, its effects were wide-spread and long-lasting.**_

* * *

I stomped down the hallway angrily. Today was a new day, and this morning I'd woken up pissed off about everything. Yes, pissed off. My emotions had went away from heartbreak for today and were pissed at Shinji. I didn't know if being pissed off would last all day, but I hoped so. I didn't want to cry any today, I would be perfectly fine with just being pissed. This was how it had went for the last week. My emotions juggling between heartbreak and anger. I'd avoided Shinji for an entire week, but I knew today I wouldn't be able to. For missing the last meeting, I knew I'd have to show up for this next one. I wasn't too pleased about it, but I knew I couldn't miss again. I didn't want to even try pushing Yamamoto-Soutaichou's buttons. That, most likely, wouldn't turn out well for me.

I'd talked to Kyōraku everyday this past week, trying to get all my emotions out before I saw Shinji again. I hadn't told him anything about my wondering about liking Shinji, but I think he might've had some idea. He hadn't mentioned it though, so I wasn't going to. I didn't want to discuss my so called "feelings" for Shinji because I really wasn't caring what I felt for him right now. I was feeling too pissed off and betrayed to even wonder if I liked him. I hadn't cried around Kyōraku again as badly as I had the first day, so I guessed my heartbreak lessened when I was around other people. When I was alone though, it was awful. I'd cry and shriek, sounding like a banshee. It was pretty darn scary too…sounding like a banshee I mean.

Shinji's little girl toy…well. Let's just say she hated my guts even more than she had before. I'd been doing everything I could to make her miserable this past week, I was pushing her buttons as much as I could. From making her assist the fourth division in cleaning the tunnels, to cleaning all of the tenth division's barracks, to helping out in the kitchen…oh yeah. She was really hating me, and did I care if she did? FUCK NO! I'd make her life as miserable as I could. She needed to be punished, and all this was leading up to the worst part of her punishment. I didn't really have any idea what I was going to do to her in the end, but it'd be good. She'd be so pissed, shocked, miserable, etc, that she'd resign. Then, I wouldn't have to deal with seeing her slutty ass face around here every day.

I smirked to myself, wondering what I could do to that little whore today. Maybe there would be something in the reports I received that would be perfect for her. I'd figure something out, and until then…I'd think about physically assaulting her. I knew I couldn't get physical with my subordinates unless they disrespected me to my face, but I could imagine couldn't it? Where was the harm in that? I smirked to myself at all the assaulting I was doing to her in my head and heard some footsteps come up to me.

"Otoribashi-Taichou?" a timid voice said. I looked up from the floor into the face of my nineteenth seat. I forced myself to smile and said

"Hai?"

"One of the unseated officers got sick in the bathroom." she said quickly, trying to speed up the conversation. I guessed she was worried over the kid, wanting to get back to them as quickly as possible. I shook my head, sighing to myself.

"Poor thing, take them back to their room…I'll have someone clean it up so don't worry about it." I ordered, crossing my arms over my chest.

I smirked to myself. Cleaning up puke would completely gross out poor little Satomi. It was her perfect punishment while I was at the meeting, I'd find something much worse for her later…when I actually found something that is.

"Hai Taichou." she said bowing.

She dashed down the hallway to go take care of the sick kid, and I licked my lips. Oh where oh where could my fifteenth seat be hiding? Oh where oh where could she be? I walked around the barracks a little while and finally came across Satomi, talking to a bunch of her friends.

"I mean it's like she's trying to make my life miserable." she was complaining. "Making me go down in those disgusting tunnels."

"Ooi, I had to go too." Chikayo whined. "You're not the only one whose life is getting all miserable. She's making me do stuff too."

"Damn, the Taichou must be pissed at you both. What'd you guys do?" an unseated officer named Asuna asked

"I didn't do anything." Chikayo snapped, glaring a little. "It's all Satomi's fault."

"Hey, I didn't do anything either." Satomi huffed. "I think she's just pissed I'm seeing Hirako, but it's not her business."

"From everything I've heard, they're both really good friends." another unseated officer named Fumina said.

"Mhm, they're always together." Fumina's sister, Wakana, stated.

"So what?" Satomi snapped, turning her nose to the air. "He always mentions her when we're together too. I swear, it's like he likes her instead of me. Why would he? She's such a bitch and ugly as fuck."

I narrowed my eyes angrily, I was getting sick of her lame insults. I clenched my fists and stomped around the corner to where they were all sitting. They turned hearing my loud footsteps, and their eyes widened.

"Taichou." Asuna exclaimed, bowing her head. The rest followed suit, and I put on a fake smile. Satomi would really be grossed out by this assignment, and she deserved it too. Her insults would get her nowhere.

"Kazuma-san, just the Shinigami I was looking for." I said, sounding exceedingly sweet. Satomi looked up and fake smiled at me.

"Is there something you need, Otoribashi-Taichou?" she asked, sounding respectful. I grinned evilly, saying

"One of our poor officers got sick in the bathroom, go clean it up." Her jaw dropped, and she said

"Demo Taichou, I just had a shower this morning." I glared darkly at her and said with an evil tone

"Are you going against a direct order from your taichou?" Her eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head.

"Of course not Otoribashi-Taichou, I'll go right now." she said nervously. She hopped to her feet, bowed to me, and darted off towards the bathroom. I looked at the other girls sitting there and said

"Don't you all have some training to do?"

"Hai Taichou." they all said in unison. They all bounced to their feet together and quickly walked down the hallway, towards the tenth division's grounds.

I clenched my fists angrily, stomping down the hallway again. I stared straight ahead, watching as all the division members that crossed my path, rushed to get out of my way. Some literally tripped over their own feet, running into a wall afterwards since they'd be in such a rush to move. They knew to stay away from me when I was pissed off like this, and me getting this pissed off was a special occasion. I never did go around anyone when I was like this. Any of them that didn't move, would be trampled into the floor. All I was thinking about, was how that little bitch had the nerve to insult her superior. Oh she was going to pay, she was definitely going to pay for those nice little insults. She was poking at a very poisonous rattlesnake, and that snake would eventually stop with the rattling and bite her ass.

I grabbed the handle of my office door, violently sliding it open, and Youta looked up from filing paperwork. I forced myself to calm down, I didn't want to be rude and angry towards Youta. He was my fukutaichou, and I loved the kid like he was my own family. I didn't want him seeing me this angry…especially so early in the morning. I smiled slightly, saying quietly

"Oopsy."

He chuckled, turning back to filing the paperwork. I walked into my office, gently pulling the door shut, and hopped across the room to my desk. I plopped down in my seat, grabbing the first folder I saw. I tilted my head to the side, wondering what this was about.

"Youta dear?"

"Kuso." I heard a bunch of papers fall to the floor and looked up from the folder seeing Youta hiding his face in his hands. I giggled, shaking my head.

"Gomen, didn't know it'd bother you." I apologized.

"No Taichou, that's not it at all. It's just…I wasn't expecting it." he exclaimed, looking up from his hands. I shook my head again and got to my feet, helping him pick the papers up.

"Don't get so embarrassed, you should know that I'm a random person." I said, ruffling his hair. He nodded, knowing I could be a very random person.

"Hai Taichou, my apologies." I rolled my eyes, handing him the fallen papers. He smiled thankfully and I giggled, going back to me desk.

"No biggie, but what's this right here?" I asked, holding up the file from my desk.

"It's a special order from Yamamoto-Soutaichou." he explained, scratching the back of his head. "He wants to send a couple of our Shinigami to Rukongai district seventy-seven, there's a hollow running around."

"Seventy-seven huh?" I asked, smirking. "I know exactly who to assign this mission, it doesn't look too dangerous." I giggled darkly, assigning Satomi and Chikayo to district seventy-seven. "You think two can handle it?" He nodded in agreement with me.

"I believe so." I took a slow breath boredly, signing my signature, before I closed the folder.

"We'll hafta turn this in later, let's head to the meeting."

He nodded and I stood up from my seat, walking out of my office. He followed me out, walking slightly behind me respectfully. I refused to be late today so we were leaving a few minutes earlier than we normally did. We walked across Seireitei over to the first division, I hated this place so much. I stared up at the doors, groaning to myself.

"Nande?" I mumbled, wondering why they had to be so high up. "YO! Otoribashi Kaori, taichou of division ten down here. OPEN UP!" I shouted, waving my hand around. The doors slowly opened, and I glanced over to see Youta laughing. "Nani?" I asked, walking inside. He followed behind me, still laughing, and said

"Gomen Taichou, it was just funny."

I giggled, trying to stay happy as long as I could. I knew that once I saw Shinji, I'd be pissed off. I didn't want to bring Youta to be worried about me any, so I'd force myself to laugh and smile until we made it to the meeting.

"I can't help it, it's not my fault I'm so short." I whined, sounding childish. He laughed again, and I looked up at him, giggling to myself. I felt his arm go around my shoulders, hugging me.

"Taichou…I'm worried about you." he said softly, I glanced over at him. "I know you're not one to talk about how you're feeling…demo-"

"Youta, please." I interrupted, smiling a little. "There's no need for you to worry about me, I'll be fine."

He nodded, not looking convinced at what I'd just said. I looked up at the sign in roster thingy. So everyone besides Kenpachi was already here, of course. I knew I was early, but I wasn't as early as everyone else. I had gotten here early enough to where I wouldn't be late…with a few minutes to spare of course. I moved my head away from the sign in roster thingy, looking up at Youta.

"Please." I asked sweetly. He chuckled, putting the wooden block up for me. "Gomen for being so short."

He laughed loudly, rolling his blue eyes. I loved that he was letting loose a little more, we were actually becoming friends rather than just taichou and subordinate. I guess I was like Kyōraku in that aspect, I preferred a friendship rather than a professional relationship. Youta ruffled my hair, and I pouted to myself. Now that wasn't fair. I wrinkled my nose, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Ha ha, gomen Taichou. Couldn't resist." he said, shrugging a bit. I nodded, smiling a little bit.

"Come on, let's go." I instructed, he nodded.

We walked down the hallway together, and I placed my hands behind my head boredly. I didn't want to go to this meeting, I really didn't want to. I was in absolute dread at the mere idea of being in the same room as Shinji, standing right beside him wasn't going to be an easy task. I knew I wasn't going to manage to control my reiatsu that well when I walked in that room, I was already getting pissed off just thinking about him. We walked around the corner, in the direction of the double doors. I wrinkled my nose angrily, I was really dreading this meeting. This would be the worst meeting of my entire life. I felt Youta place his arm around my shoulders again, and I glanced up towards him.

"Taichou…please try to control your reiatsu." I nodded, looking down. So I already was showing lack of control…great.

"I'll try, but I can't make any guarantees." I told him, I had a feeling that he nodded.

"Will you please talk to me after the meeting?" he asked, sounding a little concerned; I shrugged.

"I'll think about it…but I really would like to just keep it to myself for now." I said quietly, his arm tightened around my shoulders. "Arigato for all the support."

He nodded, smiling a little. I moved out of his one-armed hug and pulled the left door open. I walked inside, closely followed by Youta, and looked around the room. No one was lined up yet, thank god I'd gotten here slightly early for once. I sighed, my eyes immediately locking on Shinji. He glanced away from Rose, who he was currently having a conversation with, over at me.

Oh yes, today was going to be a spectacular day.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, there you go. That's chapter seven, chapter eight will be up as soon as I get FIVE REVIEWS for the NEW CHAPTER! Yeah, but it'll be pretty interesting to see how Kaori handles the whole situation with Shinji. Why don't I give you a peak about what'll happen, I'm sure you're enjoy that. Right guys?**

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CH_APTER E__IGHT PREVIEW_

_He petted the top of my head, and I glared slightly. "I'm not your dog Rose." He laughed, moving his hand off my head._

_"Gomen, your hair's just so soft. Why'd you have to cut it off?" he asked, not liking that I'd cut my hair so short. _

_"So guys won't hit on me." I answered honestly, shrugging to myself._

_"Guys don't hit on you to begin with Kaori." _

_I felt my eyes narrow, hearing it was Shinji that had spoken to me. My head snapped over in his directio, and I glared darkly at him. I saw him grinning, but it slipped off his face seeing my un-amused glare. I walked away from Rose, stopping infront of Shinji, and stood on my tiptoes so I was at eyelevel with him. I glared straight into his grey eyes and said coldly_

_"Say another fucking word to me, and I cut your tongue out. Understand?"_


	10. Chapter Eight: A Human Saying

I looked away from Shinji's eyes and walked over towards Kyoraku. I didn't want to even _look _at that asshole right now, let alone talk to him. I jumped on my former taichou's back, and he grabbed my thighs to hold me up. He knew it was me, what other woman would be bold enough to jump on his back besides me? They all thought of him as a womanizer after all. I giggled in amusement, moving my head around his shoulder to look him in the face. I poked his cheek, and he rolled his eyes at my randomness.

"Ohayou Kaori-chan." he greeted, smiling that goofy smile of his. I nodded, smiling at him a little.

"Ohayou to you too Shunsui." I sang, trying to keep myself in a good mood.

"Your greeting was rather different than normal Kaori-chan, good mood this morning?" he asked curiously, I shrugged in response.

"I'm trying, and so far it's been pretty awesome." I told him, chuckling at how I was making Satomi clean up puke. He nodded, raising his eyebrow seeing the evil glint in my eyes.

"What'd you do, huh?" he asked, knowing I was up to something. I giggled, shaking my head. I was keeping this little secret to myself, and no one would think of it as funny besides me anyway. So why tell people?

"Nah, ya can't know." I said, hopping off his back. I straightened up as he turned to face me.

"Is she being good this morning, Youta-kun?" he teased, looking above my head at Youta. I looked at Youta over my shoulder, he'd better answer wisely. He shrugged, putting his hands behind his head.

"That I know of." he answered, shrugging again. I stood on my tiptoes, ruffling his hair.

"Stop being so tall damn it!" I raged, he rolled his eyes.

"Gomen taichou, I apologize for not controlling my height to a better level." he joked, I'd never heard him sound so sarcastic. This was different, but I liked the change. He was really loosening up.

"You should be." I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest. I looked back towards Kyoraku and said "Lisa still mad at you for the whole incident?" Kyoraku shrugged, looking back towards Lisa who was reading.

"Lisa-chan, you still angry with me?" he asked, she glared daggers at him behind her book. He laughed amused, turning his attention back to me. "I take that as a yes." I giggled, scratching the back of my head.

"Ano…I'm gonna talk to Rose before the meeting so I'll see ya later."

He nodded still smiling and I turned, walking in Rose's direction. He was talking with Kensei now, and Shinji was talking to Love. The two groups were slightly close to each other, but I knew I _had _to get closer to Shinji. I'd be standing beside him during the meeting for who knew how long, so I needed to get myself a little more comfortable with being near him. I licked my lips in anticipation, trying to keep myself calm. I was in a good mood right now, and I wasn't going to let Shinji ruin it and upset me. I just needed to keep myself calm and collected, everything would be fine...I hoped. Rose looked away from talking to Kensei and smiled at me.

"Imouto." I smiled, tightly hugging my brother around the waist.

"Oni-chan." I sang, burying my face in his haori. He chuckled, lifting my feet off the floor. I eeked and pouted to myself. "Put me down, I hate heights." I whined, sounding oh so childish. He laughed, sounding amused with me and gently placed me back on my feet. I giggled, still hugging him. "Hiya Kensei."

"Konnichiwa Kaori." Kensei said, not sounding very enthusiastic. I guessed that Mashiro had put him in a bad mood today…again.

"Feeling any better Kaori?" Rose inquired, placing his hand on my head. I didn't look up at Rose, not wanting him to see me lying through my teeth, and he continued. "Youta said you weren't feeling too well before the last meeting." I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I felt really shitty. I'm better now though, promise." I said sweetly, pulling my face out of his haori. He petted the top of my head, and I glared slightly. "I'm not your dog Rose." He laughed, moving his hand off my head.

"Gomen, your hair's just so soft. Why'd you have to cut it off?" he asked, not liking that I'd cut my hair so short. He thought it was quite beautiful long, and he deeply wished I'd let it grow out and _actually _keep it that way for once.

"So guys won't hit on me." I answered honestly, shrugging to myself.

"Guys don't hit on you to begin with Kaori."

I felt my eyes narrow, hearing it was Shinji that had spoken to me. My head snapped over in his direction, my straight hair swishing infront of my face because of my short layers, and I glared darkly at him. I saw him grinning, but it slipped off his face seeing my un-amused glare. I walked away from Rose, stopping infront of Shinji, and stood on my tiptoes so I was at eyelevel with him. I glared straight into his grey eyes and said coldly

"Say another fucking word to me, and I cut your tongue out. Understand?"

He looked lost for words and took a small step back, shocked that I was so pissed off with him. I could tell by his expression that he didn't have any clue what it was over, I wasn't going to tell him though. If he couldn't figure it out on his own, then that was his fucking problem…not mine. I let my heels touch the floor again and strode over to the spot I normally stood in for these meetings. I stood there with crossed arms, tapping my foot on the ground angrily. When was Yamamoto going to get here? I felt Youta place his hand on my shoulder behind me, and I looked back at him. I had a feeling I looked extremely evil right now, but I couldn't stop myself; I was _way_ too pissed off for my own good.

"Taichou, you need to calm down. Your reiatsu is going crazy." he informed me. I tightened my lips into a thin line, I wasn't able to make myself calm down in here; I was _too _pissed off at Shinji.

"I know…I'll be back in a sec. If Yamamoto-Soutaichou get's here, tell him I needed to step out for a moment."

I stomped my way out of the room, feeling all the taichou's and fukutaichou's eyes on me, and slammed the door shut behind me. I walked a little way down the hallway, taking the first corner I came to, and leaned against the wall. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I really needed to calm down and control my reiatsu, I hoped that it hadn't went _too_ crazy in there. I didn't want everyone in Seireitei knowing how pissed off and upset I was today, but I had a feeling the taichous and fukutaichous knew that I was pissed with Shinji. Me getting in his face most likely wasn't the smartest thing for me to do, now Rose was going to attack Shinji.

I hung my head, my eyes still closed, and took another deep breath. I didn't want Rose attacking Shinji, that was my job right now. I didn't need _anyone_ to physically assault Shinji, nor did I want them to. _I_ wanted to be the one that punished him for hurting me the way he had. I had a feeling Rose wouldn't wait to talk to me, he'd go straight for Shinji, so I needed to get to Rose before he got to Shinji. Shinji was _my _prey, I wasn't going to share him with anyone. I finally calmed myself down to the point that I could control my reiatsu and opened my green eyes. I pushed myself off the wall and head back to the meeting. I walked around the corner, down the hallway, and pulled the door open. All eyes went to me, Yamamoto-Soutaichou looked at me calmly.

"Otoribashi-Taichou, so glad you could join us." the old man said, not sounding too pleased with me being late...again. I nodded, closing the door behind me.

"My apologies Soutaichou, there was something I needed to deal with." I explained, bowing my head.

"Very well, take your place." he said.

I nodded, forcing myself to calmly walk up the rows. I avoided Rose's questioning looks and took my place in-between Love and Shinji, infront of Youta. I resisted the urge to glare at the blonde baka standing next to me and focused my gaze on Yamamoto. As he talked, I couldn't keep my thoughts focused on anything he was saying. I was too focused on controlling my reiatsu and thinking about how I needed to talk to Rose. I had no idea what I could say to him to keep him from attacking Shinji, but I knew there had to be something. I wanted Shinji at one hundred percent when I beat the shit out of him. I finally snapped back to reality hearing Yamamoto say

"Members of the tenth division will be sent to eliminate the Hollow in Rukongai district seventy-seven."

"I've already selected two members of my division and will dispatch them today." I said, sounding incredibly sweet.

Yamamoto nodded, having no objections in how many Shinigami I was sending, and went on to the next topic we were to discuss. After what seemed like forever, I heard his wooden cane click against the floor, and we were dismissed. I bit down on my lower lip and darted to the doors. I didn't want anyone jumping me, and I _needed _to get away from Shinji. I head down the hallway, Youta quickly catching up seconds later.

"Taichou I…" He stopped, and I looked up to see Rose standing infront of me. I was officially screwed into the ground, curse him and his fast shunpo. I grimaced and twiddled my fingers.

"Konnichiwa Oni-chan." I greeted nervously, he glared down at me.

"We need to talk Kaori." he said seriously. I looked down at my fingers, biting down on my lower lip. I didn't really feel like talking to Rose right now, he was angry with me. I hated when he was angry with me.

"I actually can't-"

"You _will _talk to me Kaori, now." he interrupted, sounding aggravated with me. I flinched, I hated when he got that tone. I nodded in defeat, knowing there wasn't a nonviolent way out of this.

"Hai Oni-chan." I mumbled. I looked back at Youta and absentmindedly licked my lips. "Go back to the office, and turn in that report to those that have been assigned the mission in district seventy-seven. Understood?" He looked like he didn't want to leave me standing there alone with a _very_ pissed off Rose.

"Demo-"

"Youta, that's an order." I interrupted, he bowed his head.

"Hai Otoribashi-Taichou." he said quietly.

He walked passed the two of us, and I saw him look back several times before he turned the corner. I knew he was worried, but it wasn't like Rose would hit me or something. He was my brother, and he loved me. He was just worried, he didn't like seeing me so angry and upset. Especially since I hadn't gotten like that in a good while. I looked up at Rose, chewing on the inside of my jaw. He took my arm, leading/dragging me down the hallway; I followed him without question. Once we got close to the sign in roster thingy we stopped, and I leaned against the wall once he'd let go of my arm.

"What's going on?" he asked immediately, sounding pissed at me. I shrugged in response. "Don't shrug your shoulders like that at _me_, Otoribashi Chizuka Kaori." He'd used my full name…this wasn't looking good for me. "Talk right now, what'd he do?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Rose." I said seriously, his eyes narrowed in exasperation.

Rose was usually a calm and laidback person, he was really wise and insightful, but he wouldn't stand for me to lie to him. When I'd lie to him, he'd get pissed off. I wasn't doing a very good job at making myself sound believable…especially since he _knew_ for a fact that I was pissed at Shinji. He, along with everyone else, had seen me snap at Shinji in there. They'd also felt my reiatsu go crazy. There was no way for me to lie and get away with it, so I didn't understand why I was even bothering to try.

"Kaori." he warned, I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"It's nothing for you to concern yourself with." I stated, crossing my arms over my chest. His eyes narrowed, and I let out a sigh. "Rose…please. Just drop it." I said softly.

"No, I want to know what he did to upset you." he said, trying to lower his voice and not upset me.

I looked up into my twin's eyes and could just see how worried he was about me. I didn't want to tell Rose what was going on, but I knew I _needed _to. Rose would worry himself like crazy over me until he found out, and I couldn't watch him do that to himself. After losing Mikoto, I knew it'd nearly destroyed him. Watching me hurt would _completely_ destroy him, and seeing him destroyed would screw me up. So, for the sake of my twin…I _had _to tell him. I looked down in _another_ defeat, staring at the floor.

"He's…dating a member of my division." I said, rubbing my arm. "He didn't ask for my permission, and it just pissed me off." I looked up into his eyes and he nodded, seeing that I was telling the truth. "I just-"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me Kaori-chan, it's fine." he said, pulling me into a hug.

I smiled to myself and hugged Rose back. I was lucky to have such an understanding brother, but now I had to keep him from attacking Shinji. _I _was the one that got to do that. I pulled my face out of his chest and looked up at my brother. Rose stared down at me, blowing air in my face. I giggled and he smiled, happy that he could get me back into a good mood.

"Don't attack him." I asked of him. Rose sighed, looking angry at the mere mention of Shinji. "Please." He narrowed his eyes, not wanting to listen to me. "I want to be the one to kick his ass so please don't beat him up." Rose nodded, not looking all that happy with the arrangement.

"Fine Kaori, he's lucky." he said, clenching his jaw.

"Rose, it'll all be fine." I promised. "_I'll_ be fine. I just need to kick his ass for not asking me to date someone from my division, and everything'll go back to normal once that happens." He nodded, he didn't look reassured by my words though.

"Alright, whatever you say." he sighed. I smiled at him and hugged him tightly before letting go.

"I need to get back to Youta now, the poor thing's probably worried sick." I said, scratching the back of my neck. He nodded, knowing that my fukutaichou really admired and looked up to me. More like down since I was a shorty. "I'll see you later Oni-chan."

Rose hugged me again, before walking off without another word. I had a feeling he was trying to find a way around my conditions of not attacking Shinji, but I knew he wouldn't find any loophole. My brother was smart, but not _that _smart. I sighed to myself and head towards the exit. I walked across Seireitei, back to my division without being jumped by anyone, and walked down the hallways boredly. I stopped infront of my office, groaning to myself hearing screaming and yelling. It sounded like Satomi…perfect. I slid the door open, and all heads turned in my direction.

"Otoribashi-Taichou." Youta said, bowing respectfully. Neither Satomi nor Chikayo said anything or bowed, _absolutely_ perfect. I nodded to Youta, watching him stand straight again.

"What's going on here?" I asked, sounding all nice and kind.

"What's the meaning of this?" Satomi said enraged, holding up the folder. "District seventy-seven?" I nodded to her, giving her a blank stare, and folded my arms over my chest.

"Hai, the Soutaichou wanted the tenth division to check it out. I'm sending you both." I said, feigning innocence. "Is there a problem?"

"Hell yeah there is." Satomi yelled irritably. "What's _your _problem. Ever since you walked in on me and Shinji, you've been acting like a total bitch towards me. Well, I won't take it. I'm of noble blood, and you have no right to-"

She never did get to finish her rant. I shunpoed over to her, grabbing her by the throat. Her eyes widened in shock as she stared down at me. Yeah, I was short. But I was the most intimidating short person you'd ever meet. Chikayo gasped in surprised, not knowing my shunpo was so fast. Sadly, that wasn't even me _trying _at shunpo. I ignored Chikayo, squeezing Satomi's throat tightly. She gasped for air, grabbing my wrist.

"Listen, and listen good." I said emotionlessly, squeezing it harder. "I am your taichou, you _will _obey my orders. I don't give a fuck if you don't like what I order you to do, but you _will _do it without question. You wanna know what my problem is? I'll tell you what my problem is. Little slut whore bitches like _you_, waltzing around Seireitei like you own the place. You are _not _a taichou or even a fukutaichou for that matter. You are fifteenth seat, and I can demote you if I wish to do so. Just because you're upper class, doesn't mean that you should be treated any better than everyone else here. There are plenty of people that have come from District seventy-seven that will _always_ be more powerful than you, so stop trying to act like you're better than everyone because you're _not_."

I released her throat and she dropped to her knees, gasping for air. I held my head up, flipping my bangs out of my eyes, and locked eyes with Chikayo. She trembled in fear and bent down, making sure Satomi was alright. I walked passed the both of them and sat down in my chair. I grabbed a folder, opening it up, and said coldly

"Get out of my office. You have your mission, complete it."

I glanced up from my folder, looking at the both of them. Chikayo helped Satomi to her feet, and they both turned to face me. They bowed in _fear_ and took a step backwards towards my door. Chikayo slid the door open, quickly walking out. As Satomi went to leave, I said

"Kazuma." She turned, looking at me. "If you hurt my friend, you will suffer a pain worse than death. Understand?"

She glared at me coldly, and I glared back with much more intensity. She turned, exiting the office without a word, and I let out a frustrated breath. I pursed my lips angrily and looked up at Youta. He looked rather emotionless, but I knew he was shocked by everything that had just taken place. He'd wanted to know why I'd been all pissed and upset, now he knew. He moved his blue eyes to my green ones, and I held his gaze for a good ten seconds before he said

"She's the reason you've been angry with Shinji." I nodded in agreement, looking back down at the paperwork.

"Hai." I said simply. "She's a whore, doesn't deserve him, and I'll break them up if it's the last thing I do."

I heard him walk across the room and smiled slightly, feeling him place his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him to see an evil grin on his face, I smirked in amusement. I'd never seen him look like this before, but I liked it. I _really _liked it, I guessed I'd be having a partner involved in my plans now.

"What's the plan?" he asked, sounding interested; I chuckled darkly.

I guess the humans were right when they said that two heads were better than one.

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_**The pendulum swings forward. **_

_**The story rewinding backwards to the past will pause for an instant, so that we may take a look back into the future. **_

_**The decisions made during the present, will greatly affect future events.**_

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I giggled, smiling when Shinji pulled my shirt down the rest of the way for me. I tilted my head to the side, staring up at him, and poked his stomach. He looked at me, confused as to why I was so random, and pressed his lips against my forehead. I smiled, wrapping my arms around his waist, and placed my head against his chest. He petted the top of my head lovingly, running his fingers through my hair, and kissed the top of my head. I loved that he was being so sweet and gentle towards me right now, it was just the cutest thing ever. I looked up at him, finding his eyes, and he chuckled. He took both my hands, pulling me to my feet, and wrapped his arms around my waist. I giggled to myself, kissing his cheek.

"Bed time." I said sweetly, he rolled his eyes.

"Nande? It's not that late." he complained. I scrunched up my nose, pulling him out of the bathroom by the hand.

"Sleep is very important Shin-kun, you should know that by now." I told him, sounding all sweet.

I looked at him over my shoulder, smirking slightly. He rolled his eyes and shoved me onto the bed. I bounced a few times from the impact and leaned up, gently pressing my lips against his. He smiled into the kiss, placing his hand behind my head, and moved his lips against mine. It was making out either, it was just plain old fashioned kissing. Rather adorable, if I do say so myself. He pulled his lips back from mine and kissed my cheek, before hopping onto the bed next to me. I tilted my head to the side slightly, looking at him.

"Nani love?" he asked, I shrugged in response.

"Nothing." I replied, sounding oh so adorable. He chuckled, laying back on the bed. I dropped beside him, snuggling close to his body, and he placed an arm around me. "Just lookin' at ya." He grinned, rolling his eyes at me.

"Stalker." he mumbled, I pouted. That wasn't a very nice thing to accuse someone of.

"Am not!" I whined childishly. He raised an eyebrow at my tone of voice and kissed the side of my face. I giggled, nudging his head with mine. "If anyone's a stalker, it's you Shinji."

"How so?" he asked, poking my side. I giggled at the tickling, hiding my face in his shirt.

"Well…let's see. Ano…you're always everywhere I am." I stated, doing some not-so-serious thinking.

"We live together." he pointed out. I moved my face out of his shirt and stuck my tongue out at him, shoving him slightly. How dare he ruin my awesome idea?

"So?" I asked curiously, running my finger down his cheek. "I'm not always with everyone else."

"Yeah, cuz yer always followin' me around. So if _anyone's_ a stalker, it's you." Shinji teased, I glared a little.

"And how is that?" I inquired. I almost purred feeling him rub my back, god I loved his massages...I wished he'd give me one right now.

"Uh, let's see." he pondered with a sarcastic tone. "I walk in _my_ bathroom ta find you, naked in _my_ fuckin' bath." I giggled in amusement, shrugging to myself.

"I told you, I like your bath better." I reminded, he didn't look like he cared too much about that.

"What else have ya done that states how yer a stalker?" he mused to himself, I managed to resist the urge to slap him upside the head. "How about the time I walked in my room to find you sleeping in _my_ bed, or when you steal _my _clothes, and how about when-"

"Oh shut the fuck up Shinji." I snapped, interrupting his long ass speech. "Like you honestly give a shit, you like having your own personal stalker."

"Yeah, let me tell ya." he joked, sitting up. I continued laying there and said

"Mhm, it turns you on fer sure."

I actually did purr this time, feeling his hands rubbing my shoulders. I sighed contently and put my arms under my head, laying on my stomach. I looked towards Shinji, and he grinned in amusement at my purring. I rolled my eyes to myself, before closing them, enjoying the feeling of his hands massaging my shoulders.

"I love it when you do that." I said quietly, smiling a little.

"Nani?" he asked, sounding teasing. Of course he wanted me to praise him, what man didn't want a girl praising him for being 'awesome, amazing, spectacular, phenomenal, or unique?'

"Just randomly deciding to give me awesome massages, you're so amazing." I mumbled, purring to myself again.

He chuckled and planted a kiss on the back of my neck. I smiled to myself, loving the feel of this. I just wanted to be all relaxed before going to bed, no more sex today. We'd already done it like…seven different times today, so a break was in order...for now anyway.

"Shinji?" I whispered, almost groaning when he moved his hands a little ways down my back.

"Yeah Kaori-chan?" he asked, wondering what was on my mind.

"I was wondering…you said something a while back about infiltrating Kurosaki's school." I reminisced, opening my eyes. "Who's infiltrating exactly?"

"Just me." Shinji said boredly. "We don't need anyone else ta go ."

I pouted to myself, I wanted to infiltrate. It'd be fun. I'd heard a bunch of those "high-school students" complaining about how much they hated going to high school. What did they do in high school? I mean…was it like the Shinigami Academy? What were the students like there? What were the classes like? What kind of training did these so called "high schoolers" have to endure? Was it really as bad as it sounded? How many days a week did they have to go to high school? I had so many different questions concerning high school, and I wanted them answered. I'd been curious about it for quite the number of years, and I thought it was finally time for me to find some answers. Shinji was going to take me to the high school whether he wanted to or not.

"Shin-kun." I cooed, sounding seductive.

I felt his hands stop rubbing my back. If my guess was right, then he was slowly getting turned on by my tone of voice. I wasn't planning on doing anything, maybe tease him a little until he agreed to let me go with him into the school. I wanted to go, and I was willing to give up the massage just to go. His hands slowly started moving on my back again, and he said

"Nani Kaori?" I almost smirked, hearing the longing and wanting tone in his voice.

"Don't you think it's dangerous, going in there on your own? There _are _quite a few people in his little gang." I said, trying to not sound so obvious about what I wanted.

"Not really." he replied, moving his hands down to my lower back. I groaned softly, loving the feel of his hands working on relaxing my muscles. "They're just a bunch of kids."

"I guess." I said, licking my lips. "You'll be soooo bored though, not having _anyone _cool to talk to." He chuckled, running his hands up the back of my shirt, rubbing my bare skin. I groaned again, a little louder than the first time, and heard him say

"There's never anyone cool ta talk to anyway."

I wrinkled my nose, looking back at him over my shoulder. He looked up from my back and locked his eyes with mine, he had such an amused look on his face. I was going to make him take me with him on this infiltration, I'd do anything. I forced myself to slap Shinji's hands away and rolled over on my back, still looking at him. He stared back at me and finally moved to straddling my waist, placing his hands on either side of my head. I tilted my head to the side, smirking at him. He chuckled to himself and leaned down, pressing his lips against mine. I forced myself to stay focused on the task at hand rather than enjoying myself, I had to convince him to take me to that school with him.

I pushed him under me so I could be ontop and bit down on his tongue, earning a moan from him. I almost smirked but made myself keep a level head, being cocky would get me nowhere with this. I moved my hands down his chest, touching everything that I could…as roughly as I could. He groaned into my mouth, latching onto my hair, and squeezed my breast through my clothes. I gasped in pleasure, trying to keep myself focused. Getting him turned on, while getting him to do what I wanted, wouldn't be easy. He'd be too busy focused on enjoying himself rather than wanting to talk. I pulled my lips back from his and leaned down, lightly beating on his earlobe. He moaned again, his hand traveling down my chest to the hem of my tank top and slipping up my shirt to my stomach. I moved my lips down, biting and sucking on his neck. I heard him groan at how rough I was being and smirked to myself. Perfect, I almost had him where I wanted him. One more push was all I needed. I moved my hand the rest of the way down his chest, to his pants, and roughly grabbed his crotch. That's what did it. He pulled my lips back to his by my hair, moving me under him, and ripped my shorts off. Now I definitely had to talk, before he ripped anything else off.

"Shinji." I gasped, he bit down on my neck.

"Nani?" he growled, sounding incredibly sexy. I swallowed, moaning when he bit harder.

"Let me go with you to his school." I pleaded, lightly running my fingernails down his chest. "Please." I groaned feeling something warm trickle down my neck…he made me bleed _again? _He ran his tongue up my neck and said huskily

"Let me fuck ya again, and we've gotta deal."

I smirked in victory, almost hating that I'd gotten myself into this situation. _Almost._

* * *

****

Author's Note: Well now we know Kaori's reaction to Shinji being a complete and total oblivious douch. Well done Shinji, well done. Hope you manage to correct this little problem that you've managed to get yourself into. This is only the beginning my friends, wait until you see the physical punishment Kaori has in store for him, that will be incredibly good. No joke, you'll love it....yeah. Grrr, stupid uploader thing's being gay and won't let me center everything...*sigh* Oh well. So, FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER!

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CHAPTER NINE PREVIEW

I slid the door shut and looked back to Shinji, our eyes locking. If he had been nervous before, now he looked like he was about to piss his pants. Even better. I shunpoed across his office, stopping right infront of him. He took a step back, bumping against his desk. I glared coldly at him, leaning closer to him.

"Uhh…Kaori. I thought ya enjoyed personal space." Shinji said, looking extremely nervous. I smirked, putting my hands on my hips in a teasing manner.

"Personal space isn't a biggie right now Shinji darling." I cooed, sounding dangerously sweet. He cringed a bit, my smirk widened. "I think it's time to have a little talk, nay?" He swallowed and I laughed watching him shunpo to the window. "You're not getting away that easily!" I shouted.


	11. Chapter Nine: Revenge is Sweet

"Kaori-chan." I groaned, turning over on my side. Why was he trying to wake me up? I was tired damn it. "Kaori." I wrinkled my nose, keeping my eyes sealed shut. I wasn't getting up, I refused to, and there was no way he was going to make me. "Come on my little love, wake up."

I clutched the pillow under my head, trying to ignore the incredibly sexy voice whispering in my ear. Why was he doing this to me so early in the morning? I was so tired and wanted to sleep, but I was getting so turned on hearing how sexy he sounded. How was it possible for someone to get turned on as soon as they woke up? Why me, why did it have to be me?

"Kaori-chan, breakfast is almost ready. We need ta head downstairs." he told me.

My eyes snapped open, I was pissed off. He'd woken me up _and _turned me on. Why couldn't he have just let me sleep and skip breakfast? Oh wait. Now that I thought about it, I knew why he wouldn't let me sleep in. He wouldn't let me sleep because he'd been woken up by someone. So he thought, that since he'd been woken up, that I should be awake too. How perfect and logical was that? I let out a frustrated breath and turned on my left side, facing Shinji. He tilted his head against his pillow and rubbed my cheek with his thumb.

"Ohayou love." he said softly, I felt my anger disappear. Why'd he have to be so sweet about this?

"Ohayou Shinji." I whispered, leaning my cheek into his hand. I smiled slightly, wishing to myself that I could still be pissed at him, but I knew I couldn't with how sweet he was being right now.

"Gomen fer waking ya up love, I didn't wanna." he apologized. I almost rolled my eyes, now _that _was a lie. I forced myself to ignore it though, I didn't want to fight this early in the morning with him.

"It's not a big deal I guess." I mumbled, scooting closer to him.

He grinned, placing his arm around my waist, and held me close to him. I smiled slightly, closing my eyes, inhaling his scent. I loved feeling him so close to me in the morning, it was really romantic in a weird kind of way. Just to wake up and have someone holding you, it was just something amazing to experience. Anyone who'd never had something like that, could never understand it. I kept my eyes closed, inhaling again. God, why did he always smell so wonderful? Like…I couldn't even describe what he smelled like, it was just such a sexy smell. I thought guys were supposed to be all sweaty and gross smelling…I guess not.

"So love…" I opened my eyes, looking up at Shinji, and kissed his cheek.

"Hai?" I asked sweetly, he chuckled at my tone. I must've sounded quite adorable to him. Score for me.

"Why do ya wanna go ta Kurosaki's school so badly?" he asked curiously, I shrugged a little.

"I've always wondered about these high school things, all the kids complain about them. I wanna know if they're as bad as the kids make them out to be. So…I thought it'd be nice to have a new adventure, see what they're like." I replied, he rolled his eyes.

"Yer _too_ adventurous." he mumbled, I shook my head giggling.

"Nu uh." I said cutely. "A little bit of adventure never hurt…"

I stopped, lowering my head. Never mind, that wasn't a good thing to say. I'd just hurt my own feelings now, as well as Shinji's…I really needed to just stop talking all together. I was going to wind up hurting everyone's feeling one day if I didn't start thinking before I spoke.

"Kaori-chan…" Shinji started. I shook my head, stopping his words.

"I'm fine." I whispered, rubbing my arm. "I just…wasn't thinking about…yeah…"

I shook my head, confused with my own words and thoughts, and sat up in bed. I slipped out of the sheets and walked across the room to Shinji's closet. I went through his closet boredly, trying to find something to wear back to my room. I just needed a top maybe. It wasn't like I could walk down the hallway half naked…at least one of his shirts would be enough cover up for me. I grabbed his dark blue button up, pulling my arms through the sleeves. I sighed, buttoning only a few of the buttons, and felt Shinji's arms go around my waist from behind me.

"Kaori love?" I looked at him over my shoulder, he looked concerned. Why did I always worry him so much? _How _did I manage to worry him so much?

"Nani Shinji?" I whispered, trying to hide my sad tone.

"Don't be sad, ya didn't-"

"I know Shinji." I interrupted, kissing his cheek afterwards. "Can we just not talk about it?"

He nodded a bit, hugging my waist tightly. I smiled sadly and kissed his cheek again, before I managed to wiggle out of his arms. I walked out of his room, heading down the hallway, back to my bedroom. I looked around my room apathetically and finally forced myself to look through my dresser for something to wear for the day. I wrinkled my nose, going through the clothing without any real interest. I finally pulled out my light wash skinny jeans, bright purple off-shoulders top, and pulled my black and white checkered slip-on vans on my feet. I looked at my reflection, quickly brushing my hair out, and glanced over hearing my door pushed open. I looked at Shinji, smirking to myself seeing the grin on his face.

"Damn, can someone say beautiful?" he teased, I rolled my eyes.

"Arigato Shinji." I said sweetly, setting my brush back on my dresser. I looked up at him, tilting my head to the side. Did he honestly think he could surprise me with shunpo anymore? If he did, he was quite the dense one. "Hmmm?" He lightly ran his finger up my arm, staring into my eyes.

"Yer so beautiful Kaori." he told me. I felt my cheeks go hot at the compliment and licked my lips.

"If I had a Zanpakuto for every time I heard _that_, I'd own my own weapons shop." I said, sounding sarcastic.

He chuckled, gently pressing his lips against mine. I smiled into the kiss, placing my arms around his neck, and tilted my head to the side to kiss him better. As our lips moved against each other's, so many different memories were popping in my head. Both good and bad memories. I didn't want to think about those memories right now though, they were too hurtful. I kissed Shinji one last time and pulled my lips back from his. I opened my eyes, staring into his.

"Let's go eat…I'm starving." I groaned, he laughed in amusement.

He kissed my forehead before we walked out of my room and down into the dining room. The whole family had beat us there again, I wasn't really surprised. Even back in Soul Society I was always almost late, running late, barely late…I just was always late no matter what I did. Curse my old Taichou's habit of being late, he'd rubbed off on me. Now with Shinji distracting me all the time, it didn't really help me with being on time…he was such a frustrating yet sexy distraction. The thing that was distracting about our dysfunctional family, was their constant arguing, and that wasn't a good distraction at all. It was annoying as hell. I scratched the back of my head, taking a seat next to Rose.

"Ohayou Oni-chan." I said, yawning a bit. He chuckled, pouring some orange juice into a glass.

"Tired Kaori?" he asked, sounding amused. I shrugged in response, smiling when he handed me the orange juice.

"Arigato." I said sweetly, he nodded.

Shinji took the seat next to me, in-between Lisa and myself. I took a drink of my orange juice, smiling when Shinji nudged my side with his elbow. I giggled to myself, poking his cheek. He grinned at me, before he turned his attention to Kensei. Training, today was going to be so tiresome. I didn't feel like training today, couldn't we just take a break or something? We always trained nonstop, we barely ever got a break.

"So what's on the agenda fer today Kensei?" Shinji asked. Kensei took a quick bite of his toast and said

"Well, Mashiro wants to take break from training for today so I have no idea."

I smirked, mentally cheering because there was no training. My prayers had just been answered. I loved how Mashiro was able to manipulate Kensei the way she did. All she had to do was whine, throw a small tantrum on the floor, and bam! She got what she wanted. I'd always wished I was able to manipulate Shinji the same way Mashiro manipulated Kensei…then again. All I had to do was turn him on, and he gave me whatever I wanted…most of the time anyway. So I guessed I did know how to manipulate people pretty well…men at least…some men…maybe it was just Shinji. Shinji nodded beside me and turned his attention to Mashiro.

"Did ya wanna do something specific today Mashiro?" he asked, sighing.

I could tell that he would rather train than let Mashiro be in charge of what we did for the _whole _day. No one didn't really have any idea what Mashiro would be planning, she was quite the random person. She might be a completely normal grownup person and decide that she wanted to go out to eat as a group or go to some club later that night. Or she'd whine about wanting to go to a toy store, or the park, or to Pet Land. She could be grownup one moment, a complete and total child the next. Why couldn't she just stick with one personality rather than a billion? She tilted her head a bit, looking like a confused puppy, and hmm'd to herself.

"Yep!" she said after a moment, nodding in confirmation.

She didn't say anything for a few more seconds, and I could see Kensei was already growing frustrated with her. Just by the way his eyes were narrowing, and the way his lips twitched, the creases on his forehead…he was already getting annoyed. I swear, he was so short-tempered. He needed to chill for once, stop being so serious all the time. Being carefree was fun, Mashiro was proof of that.

"What'd you wanna do Mashiro?" I asked, hoping to keep Kensei from blowing up on her. I wasn't in the mood to hear all sorts of yelling right now, I still wasn't all the way awake.

"I have the whole day planned out." she said proudly, I could just feel everyone sweat drop. This couldn't have been good.

"Uh huh." Lisa said from behind her book. "And would you be so kind as to tell us what you have planned?" Mashiro hmm'd again and nodded.

"Yep, I'll tell." she said, sounding all energetic and bubbly. "Well, first we're going shopping." I smirked in victory, I'd been wanting to go shopping for a good couple of weeks.

"Urg." Hiyori groaned. "Do we hafta?" Mashiro nodded, smiling.

"Mhm." Hiyori crossed her arms annoyed, she hated shopping. Ok, hated is an understatement. She loathed, no, _despised _shopping. "There's a whole bunch of sales today in the mall, and everything's all pretty."

Hiyori groaned again but still nodded, knowing that Mashiro would more than likely throw a tantrum if she didn't agree. I glanced at Lisa, she looked a little happy to be going shopping. I think she just wanted to visit a book store rather than buy clothes though. I knew Rose and Love were in agreement with her on the bookstore thing, they wanted new manga of course. And I knew Rose would be visiting a music store with Shinji and myself, we three were the music fanatics out of the group. After the music store, I _really _needed to shop for clothes; I was running low on _non-ripped _clothing. Hiyori…I really had no idea where she went in the mall, I'd never hung out with her there. Kensei, he'd most likely be dragged around by Mashiro like he normally was. If he escaped from her, I knew he'd be checking out the self-defense store in the mall. He found the humans various weapons quite interesting. Hachigen currently wasn't feeling well so I knew he wasn't going to accompany us. He'd just sleep in bed all day, trying to get himself feeling better. I felt pretty bad for him being sick, poor Hachi.

"The mall sounds fine." Rose said, I took another drink of my orange juice.

"New manga." Love muttered, scratching his ear. Mashiro smiled, happy that everyone was in agreement with going to the mall.

"After that we're gonna eat." she told us, Kensei looked at her suspiciously.

"Where?" he asked, she smiled happily.

"Silly Kensei, if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise." she laughed, he narrowed his eyes at her. He better not start a fight with her…or start one of her whining fits.

"What after that?" I asked, trying to keep Kensei from strangling her.

"Drop our stuff off." Mashiro said, nodding to herself. "Night on the town."

I giggled, loving how she was being pretty grownup today. Clubbing, I loved it so much. I especially liked dressing up in some sexy outfit and getting Shinji's jaw to drop. That was always rather amusing to me, Rose didn't get amused about it though. So, unfortunately, I had to watch what I wore. It couldn't be _too _revealing or Rose would flip out, but it couldn't completely cover everything or I'd be pissed. I enjoyed watching Shinji's reaction to other guys hitting on me, I liked seeing him get all possessive. It was extremely hot, and I liked that he would be ready to get in a fight and kick someone's ass to impress me.

"Oh, but before that I wanna go to Pet Land!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air.

I sighed, shaking my head. Of course, she couldn't _ever _be completely grownup.

_

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_

_**The pendulum swings back. **_

_**The story barreling towards the future will stop for an instant, so that we may peer into the past. **_

_**Though it was only the briefest of moments, its effects were wide-spread and long-lasting.**_

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"Taichou?" I looked up from my desk, smiling when Youta walked in. I turned my attention back to the paperwork, saying with a sweet tone

"How are you today, Youta dear?"

"Quite alright, Otoribashi-Taichou." he replied, my sweet smile turned into an amused smirk.

From the way he'd just said that I knew that he'd learnt something of interest, and I needed to know what it was. There was no way I was going to let him keep _any _secrets from me.

"How are you doing Taichou?" he inquired.

"Fine." I replied, looking up from the paperwork. I could see an evil glint in his eyes, now I knew for sure that he'd found something out about Satomi. This was all _too_ perfect. "Tell me what ya know."

He chuckled, knowing that I was good at reading people, and walked away from the bookshelf towards my desk. I stared up at him, watching him lean back against the desk, his palms planted on the desk. I tilted my head to the side, moving my side-bangs out of my eyes.

"A bunch of Kazuma's friends were talking." he told me, I nodded. "She'd told them something about how she was going to see Hirako-Taichou in an hour."

I nodded again, an hour huh? That would be the perfect time for me to interrupt their little make out session. Kazuma Satomi would be sorry she was messing with me and using my best friend to her own benefit. She was going to pay dearly…just not yet. Dragging out her punishment was far too much fun for me to pass up, and I hadn't had _this _much fun in a good while.

"That's perfect." I said, sounding mischievous. "Arigato Youta."

He nodded, happy that he could help me complete my mission. In the past few days, Youta had been assisting me in my plan of "Making Satomi incredibly miserable so she'll resign." He'd been a major help to me, it was good to have a skilled spy in the enemy's territory. While I was stuck in my office doing all sorts of paperwork and taichou shit, Youta was wandering the barracks, listening to everything people were saying. He'd heard plenty of people talking about Satomi dating Shinji, but it wasn't much help. They were all just rambling about how lucky she was to be with a taichou and all kinds of other shit. The _real_ important stuff we got, was when he managed to eavesdrop on her friends. They always gossiped about some of the lamest stuff, but most of their conversations revolved around Satomi and Shinji. She just couldn't keep her mouth shut around them, and now I had all sorts of information. I knew he was taking her out for dinner on Friday of this week at seven, I was going to _definitely_ interrupt that. Maybe I'd even let Youta in on the fun. I knew that she was seeing him in an hour today, I even had figured out what times she left the division during the day to go see him. It was perfect, these girls were helping me complete my mission…and they didn't even know they were screwing over one of their friends.

I had yet to get around to speaking with Shinji about everything going on with his little girl toy, but today was the day that I would. I knew I couldn't delay it any longer…and I just wanted to be a bitch and stop him from making out with her. I was thinking I'd wind up chasing him around Seireitei, but I was in the mood for a good hunt. A battle of shunpo tag, then I'd corner him somewhere. Most likely some division's grounds. If I didn't manage to corner him, I'd tackle him to the fucking ground and yell in his face to make _sure_ he heard what I was saying. I wasn't going to let him hurt me like he had for the past two weeks. I'd woken up in a pissed off mood today, and I'd make sure it stayed that way. I went two days this week being heartbroken and miserable over him, now I was going to stay _pissed_.

"Taichou…may I ask what you're planning?" Youta inquired, snapping me out of my thoughts. I grinned, nodding a little.

"I'm going over there. Gonna interrupt their kissy kissy, smoochy smoochy time." I replied. He chuckled, looking insanely amused.

"I love the way you explain things Taichou, it's rather creative." I nodded in agreement, I was awesome at being creative. "Would you like me to accompany you to his office?" he asked. I shook my head, I needed him here.

"No, I'm really behind on paperwork right now." I complained, shaking my head to myself. "I really need to get caught up." He nodded, ruffling his hair.

"Alright, tell me how it goes won't ya?" he asked of me, I nodded.

"Yeah, fer sure." I said smirking. "I'm gonna wind up chasing him around fucking Seireitei most likely." Youta rolled his eyes, knowing I was the only person bold enough to chase Shinji around Seireitei, and grabbed a folder off my desk.

"Give him a punch from me then." he said, opening the folder. "I would myself, but you'd kill me if I did since he's yours to punish."

"Nah, I wouldn't kill ya Youta dear. You're my fav." I teased, he rolled his eyes again.

"Uh huh…Otoribashi-Taichou, have you read this?" he asked with a serious tone, I shook my head.

"No…what's it about?" I asked curiously, moving my head up.

"Urahara-Taichou's asking for volunteers so he can study reiatsu a bit closer. He's working on developing something called a gigai." Youta explained, I looked at him confused. "It's a faux body Taichou, he thinks they may come of use in the world of the living some time in the near future. He's having difficulties with creating it though since reiatsu is rather complicated." I nodded, licking my lips. "Taichous are able to assign this to their division members since Urahara-Taichou needs more than just one person, he needs to study all sorts of different reiatsu."

I grinned in amusement, Satomi wouldn't enjoy being stuck with all sorts of little pins and needles. This was perfect, and she couldn't go against a direct order from her taichou. She was just a fifteenth seat after all. Oops, did I say fifteen? I meant sixteenth, I demoted her yesterday. I felt a smirk come to my lips and took the folder from Youta. I had quite the number of people to assign to this…all of them Satomi's friends.

"Taichou?" Youta questioned, confused as to why I found this file interesting.

"The girls won't like their perfect little bodies being scarred Youta." I said, grinning evilly. Youta chuckled, understanding what I was saying.

"Of course not Otoribashi-Taichou, make sure you assign people to this who _won't _mind." he said, sounding sarcastic. I nodded in agreement, this was going to be good…very good.

"Mhm, we don't want the division angry with us do we?" I asked, chuckling darkly behind the folder.

"No, making enemies wouldn't be a smart thing to do." he joked, I raised an eyebrow in amusement. I glanced towards the clock, smirking to myself.

"I'm gonna head over there, it's about time." I said, signing Satomi over to Urahara's experiment thing.

"Ok, I'll make sure to deliver the order to the rest of her friends." Youta informed me, I nodded in thanks. I grabbed the order for her out of the folder and handed the folder with the rest of the orders to Youta.

"Have fun, they'll be pissed." I said amused, he chuckled.

"They'll listen to me, they know I'm your right hand." Youta said, exiting the office.

I chuckled again and followed him out. I walked down the hallway, plenty excited about what I was going to do to Satomi. Oh she wouldn't like this order, she wouldn't like it one fucking bit. Did I care? Fuck no. I smirked, heading towards the fifth division. I walked slowly, trying to waste a little bit of time. I wanted to do a little bit of thinking on what I'd say when I walked in the office. Maybe I'd just need to be a bitch…or I could be as sweet as honey. Which one would be better? I thought on this for a moment and decided it would be best to act all sweet and nice. I didn't want Shinji knowing how miserable I was making his girl toy, it would ruin all my fun…and he would know I was up to something if I walked in there being bitchy. He was already going to know something was up when I walked in there, I hadn't actually _spoken_ to him in a good two weeks. Civilly I mean.

I stopped infront of the door to Shinji's office and slid it open without even thinking about knocking, there was no real point in it. There they were, lip locking like the first time. I felt anger and something like jealousy bubble up inside me, but I managed to keep myself calm. I wasn't going to ruin all my fun by getting pissed off, I'd been planning this for a while and I refused to let it blow up in my face.

"Eh hem." I coughed. They broke apart, eyes locking on me.

"Otoribashi-Taichou." Satomi exclaimed, looking embarrassed.

"Kaori…what a surprise." Shinji said. He looked nervous, _very_ nervous. Good, the bastard deserved it. I continued smiling sweetly and motioned Satomi over with my index finger.

"I have an assignment for you." I said, sounding kind. She nodded, taking the order with trembling fingers. "Out."

She nodded again, looking back at Shinji once, before exiting his office without a word. I slid the door shut behind her and looked back to Shinji, our eyes locking. If he had been nervous before, now he looked like he was about to piss his pants. Even better. I shunpoed across his office, stopping right infront of him. He took a step back, bumping against his desk. I glared coldly at him, leaning closer to him.

"Uhh…Kaori. I thought ya enjoyed personal space." Shinji said, looking _extremely _nervous. I smirked, putting my hands on my hips in a teasing manner.

"Personal space isn't a biggie right now Shinji darling." I cooed, sounding _dangerously _sweet. He cringed a bit, my smirk widened. "I think it's time to have a little talk, nay?" He swallowed and I laughed watching him shunpo to the window, quickly jumping out. "You're not getting away that easily!" I shouted, following him out the window.

I landed in a crouched position on the ground and I shunpoed after him, chasing him across the fifth division's grounds. We were getting so many stares from all his division, but like it really mattered. Shinji was going to suffer the consequences of not talking to me about dating someone from my division, leading me on like he had, and confusing the shit out of me. Then hurting me afterwards, I couldn't forget about that! Oh, and not to mention him not noticing that the _whore_ was using him. Was he fucking blind or something? I managed to shunpo faster than him and grabbed the back of his haori, pulling him down into the grass. He landed on his back and I jumped ontop of him, straddling his waist. With my hands on either side of his head, I leaned closer to him, glaring hard.

"You fucking asshole." I said slowly, sounding dangerous. He looked scared…ok scared was an understatement. He looked absolutely _terrified_.

"Nani Kaori?" he asked, trying to press his back even further into the grass. I smirked, leaning in closer to him and punched him in the face.

"You fucking jerk." I yelled, my fist making contact with his face again. "How the hell could you do this to me? You bastard! Didn't even _ask_ to date someone from my division, you're screwing everything up. You fucking cunt! Now everything's off balance in _my_ division, and it's all you're damn fault." I hit him in the face again and again, breathing hard. I finally stopped hitting him, trying to get the rest of my anger out without anymore violence being involved. "How could you fucking do this to me? Why the hell would you screw your best friend over like this? Fucking bitch!"

"Kaori." I glared harder at him, his eyes locked with mine. "I didn't think ya'd care, demo…now that I know ya do. Gomen." I felt anger spreading through my veins, I was still so extremely pissed off. That was the lamest apology I'd ever heard in all my years.

"I wouldn't have cared if you would've just asked me. I was already having a hard time controlling that fucking bitch, now it's even harder with _you_ in the way." I said angrily, leaning my face closer to his.

He swallowed, still staring into my olive green eyes. I felt some of my anger disappearing, it'd been a while since he'd looked at me like this, and I liked it. I'd missed him looking at me this way, just the way our eyes were connecting right now, it was such an amazing feeling. I'd missed the emotional connection I shared with him so much, the way we looked at each other was something far different than the way other people stared at each other. We just…I couldn't understand it. He was able to calm me down though, just by staring at me. I was already feeling like my anger was fading away, but I didn't understand why the hell I'd missed this connection with him. He'd pissed me off, and I'd been angry with him for a good two weeks. So why the hell would I have missed having an emotional connection with him?

"She doesn't wanna fucking listen to any order I give her, she was already stuck up enough just because she's a noble. Now that she's dating a taichou, she thinks she can do whatever the hell she wants. Thanks a fucking lot Shinji." I scolded, narrowing my eyes.

I was trying to sound like I was still completely pissed off at him, even though I really wasn't anymore. He'd calmed me down without even doing or saying anything…great. I watched his hand come up, I clenched my teeth expecting a punch to the face, and he surprised me when he cupped my cheek in his hand. I stared at him, confused by his actions, what was he doing? He licked his lips, still staring into my eyes, and said

"Kaori-chan…yer my best friend. I didn't mean ta hurt ya. Gomen nasai."

I swallowed, wondering how he knew that he'd hurt me. I could've just been pissed off for all he knew. Instead of trying to say something, I nodded. I knew I wouldn't be able to get any of my words out without choking up. I hopped off him, crossing my arms. He got to his feet and pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly. I almost hugged him back but forced myself not to. When he'd touched me…it felt like my heart had leaped out of my chest. Like…it had missed feeling his touch.

I was feeling so at ease in his arms right now, but I couldn't let him think he'd been completely forgiven. I had to let him know he was still introuble for doing this to me, for hurting me like this. I didn't think I could though. As much as I hated to admit it…I might've actually had feelings for Shinji, and that might've been why him dating Satomi had hurt me as much as it had. I finally put my arms around him, nuzzling my face in his chest, and inhaled his scent. He smelt amazing, had he always smelt this way? I heard him sigh as he placed his cheek ontop of my head and hid my blush feeling his fingers run through my short hair. It was weird for him to be so affectionate towards me, but I liked him acting this way towards me. It was different, but it was a nice different. Like…he was supposed to be acting this way only towards _me_.

I didn't know how long we stood there, a good fifteen minutes at least, but he finally released his grip on me. I took a step back, slightly sad that he'd broken off the hug. I looked up at him, wishing that I understood what I was feeling towards him, and he planted a gentle kiss on my forehead. I felt my cheeks go hot and lowered my head, letting my hair fall over my face to cover my blush.

"Gomen Kaori." Shinji apologized again; I nodded, rubbing my arm.

"No big deal." I mumbled, still rubbing my arm. "I need to get back to my office anyway, I'm drowning in paperwork." I heard Shinji chuckle and looked up at him. He grinned and patted the top of my head.

"Obviously, yer not that tall Kaori." he said playfully. I glared and kicked him in the shin. "Itai!" He hopped around on one foot, holding his shin, and I chuckled to myself.

"That's what ya get." I said, grinning in amusement. Shinji looked at me, grinning as well, and said

"We good?" I shrugged, putting my hands behind my head.

"I suppose." I said boredly, walking off in the direction of my division. "I'll see ya later, and Shinji?" I looked at him over my shoulder, his eyes locked with mine. "Be careful around that little whore."

I shunpoed off, heading back to my division. At least things had gotten better between Shinji and myself, but I didn't have any idea what I was going to do now. Those feelings had come back, tenfold. I didn't understand them before, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how right Motarasu Kumo was. I really _did _have feelings for Shinji, feelings that I didn't want. I had no clue what I was going to do either. Having feelings for Hirako Shinji…oh great. He was one of my brother's friends, one of _my _friends, my _best_ friend. How was I going to tell him I had feelings for him, there was no way I could. One reason was I had too much pride. The other, Satomi was in my way. Not for long though, I'd make sure of it. I smirked to myself, heading down the hallway to my office.

"Kazuma Satomi, you are going down."

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**Author's Note: And there's chapter nine. Haha, Kaori totally kicked Shinji ass, the poor dear. Isn't Kaori just plain awesome? No wonder you all love her so much...or maybe it's just me. I was especially happy to get this chapter out today after working so hard on it. Wanna know why? Huh, huh?! Well, it's my birthday so...yeah. Haha, I'm sorry if that made no sense. Anyway, FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER!!!**

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_CHAPTER TEN PREVIEW!_

_"You're hiding something from me." I could see Rose's eyes widen, I was right. "WHAT'D YOU DO!" I screamed, he shrugged in response. He didn't look all that concerned with it, just concerned with me knowing he did something rather than what he did._

_"I just threatened Shinji." he said nonchalantly, my jaw dropped._

_"You did what!" I yelled, not as loudly as before. He continued giving me the same calm look and said plainly_

_"I threatened him." I glared at him, looking as intimidating as I possibly could. I couldn't believe he'd threatened my prey._


	12. Chapter Ten: My Little Love

"So wait…that's it?"

I gave a short nod in response, signing my signature to some document I hadn't even bothered to read. What was the point anyway? It wasn't like Youta wouldn't tell me about it later anyway.

"You didn't break any of his limbs or anything?" he pressed.

I shook my head, tapping my pen against the desk, a bored expression on my face. He seemed to be quite disappointed at the idea that I didn't break any of his limbs, was he in the mood to hear about violence or something today? Now I was starting to feel bad that I was disappointing him so much with this lame ass story.

"He had a bloody nose, happy yet?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Youta. He scratched the back of his head, sighing.

"Was that my punch?" he asked smirking a little, I grinned in amusement. This kid was starting to adopt my attitude bit by bit…what an honor this was.

"Hai, it was." I told him, he chuckled to himself. He seemed rather happy hearing that.

"Good enough for me." he mumbled, I gave a short laugh.

Today was going far better than I thought it would've, but the only thing that was frustrating me was my emotions and hormones. As soon as Shinji had touched me, touching my cheek and that hug, my emotions had went bonkers. I hadn't noticed it then but it was hitting me square in the face right now. When he'd cupped my cheek, I'd been silently hoping that he was planning on kissing me. When he hadn't, I'd felt a twinge of disappointment. I wasn't thinking, "damn it, why didn't he kiss me" it was more like my emotions were whining and crying over it. Why the hell was this happening to me? Why did it have to be Shinji? That hug had really opened up my eyes though, the way my body molded against his. It was like, I was the only person he was meant to hold that way. I'd wanted him to keep holding me, but I knew we were being watched by his division. Rumors would be flying, and I knew that it wasn't good that Shinji had kissed my forehead like that. Rumors were _definitely_ going to be flying all over Seireitei before the day was out.

"So, how did the girls react to their order?" I asked curiously, leaning my chair back on it's hind legs and placing my feet on the desk. Youta howled with laughter, saying

"They weren't very happy." I smirked, knowing they wouldn't be. They didn't want their _flawless _bodies scarred, the poor dears. "They were whining about how they didn't have to do this, that they were upper class and all sorts of other bullshit. They tried so hard to get out of the order, giving a number of different excuses." he explained. I nodded, I was having a strong feeling that they hadn't succeeded. Youta hated them about as much as I did, I knew he wouldn't have let them off the hook so easy. "Then I told them that this was a direct order from you, and if they refused to go then they would be stripped of their seats." My jaw dropped in shock, had he really said that?

"You did _not_ say that." I exclaimed, pointing at him. He nodded, still grinning in amusement. I giggled in excitement for tomorrow's events and put my hands behind my head. "Perfect."

"They went after that without complaints, they didn't look all that enthusiastic about it though." he informed me, I closed my eyes.

"Hiyori'll have tons of fun poking at them and shit, I can't wait to get all sorts of info from her." I said, wrinkling my nose.

"I had a feeling they were silently cursing me." Youta said with a chuckle, I nodded in agreement.

"Eh, most likely. They can't do anything about it though, you _are _second in command." I had a feeling he nodded in agreement. "Anyway, mind training the new recruits for me?" I opened one eye to _actually_ see him nod.

"Yeah, I'm in the mood for a little katana action." he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. I closed my eye, sighing to myself.

"Wooden katanas you mean, I don't want them using real katanas yet." I corrected.

"Of course, we wouldn't want them losing an eye or something." he said seriously. I nodded in agreement, scratching my head.

"Go on, I'll talk to you later." I ordered, I had a feeling he was nodding…now bowing.

"Hai Taichou." he said, sounding respectful.

I heard my door slide open, then shut, and opened my eyes to find myself alone in my office. I didn't really know what I was going to do now that I'd gotten my revenge on Shinji, how else could I occupy my time? I could always plan more horrible things to do to Satomi, there were always ways that someone could destroy a noble's pride, and she _really _needed less pride. Either that or a reality check. I looked up hearing the door open and smiled at Rose.

"Konnichiwa Oni-chan." I said sweetly. He nodded, recognizing that I was in a good mood.

"What'd you do?" he asked, knowing that I _had _to have done something to be in this good of a mood. I giggled mischievously, tilting my head to the side a bit.

"Nani? No konnichiwa?" I asked, sounding sarcastic.

He rolled his eyes, walking to my desk, after sliding the door shut. I moved my feet off my desk and let my chair fall on all legs. I looked at Rose curiously, wondering what was on his mind. He didn't look worried or upset, more confused than anything. What was going on his thoughts?

"Nani Oni-chan?" I asked curiously.

"Shinji." he said simply. I shrugged, not getting upset in the least. I was over being upset with him, and Rose could tell the difference immediately. "What happened?" I leaned my cheek against my hand, my elbow on the desk, and said simply

"I attacked him, gave him a bloody nose, and yelled in his face. We're good now that that's all over with." He nodded, seeing that I wasn't lying to him. He didn't really look all that happy though, did he know something that I didn't?

"It's going all over Seireitei that you both have some non-friendship relationship going on." he informed me, my eyes narrowed.

"Really, stupid division." I mumbled, flipping my bangs out of my eyes. "I tackle him, and they automatically think we're seeing each other." Rose looked at me amused, I giggled.

"You tackled him?" he asked, I nodded in confirmation.

"To the fucking ground, he was about to piss his pants he was so intimidated." I said, laughing. Rose laughed as well, leaning forward across the desk and poking my cheek. I wrinkled my nose, smiling as I did so. "He gave me a hug too, so that might be why people are talking like that." Rose nodded, understanding. I wasn't going to tell him about that kiss though, I'd keep it to myself for now.

"Alright, I had to make sure you were ok though." he said, sounding like a concerned older sibling.

I hated when he sounded like that, it wasn't like I didn't know how to take care of myself. He needed to stop worrying so much, he was going to wind up getting himself killed for worrying about me all the time. And I really didn't want that to happen.

"Arigato Oni-chan." I said sweetly, taking his hand across the desk. He smiled at me, and I squeezed his hand. "I told you everything would work out." He sighed, rolling his eyes at me.

"Hai, you told me Imouto." he said grudgingly. I tilted my head to the side, staring into his eyes. Why did it look like he wasn't telling me something? "Well, I should go more than likely."

"Nope." I said, shaking my head. "You're hiding something from me." I could see his eyes widen, I was right. "WHAT'D YOU DO!" I screamed, he shrugged in response. He didn't look all that concerned with it, just concerned with me _knowing_ he did something rather than what he did.

"Just threatened him." he said nonchalantly, my jaw dropped.

"You did what!" I yelled, not as loudly as before. He continued giving me the same calm look and said plainly

"I threatened him." I glared at him, looking as intimidating as I possibly could. I couldn't believe he'd threatened _my _prey. I'd told him not to mess with Shinji, and he had anyway. That asshole, how could he?

"I told you not to mess with him." I said darkly, Rose shook his head.

"No, you told me not to physically attack him. You never said anything about verbal." he said, my jaw dropped...again.

I couldn't believe he'd found a loophole. I was guessing that after we'd talked about everything going on, he'd went to find Shinji. After he found him, he hadn't touched him, but yelled in his face. This was great, now my feelings were confused again. I'd thought I liked Shinji, and that he might like me. Now, I wasn't so sure. What if he had only hugged me and stared at me the way he had because of Rose verbally attacking him? This was great, now my heart felt like it was sinking all over again. It was _not _a good feeling at all.

"What'd you say to him?" I asked slowly, trying to hide how hurt I was.

"I just threatened him a little." he told me, shrugging a bit.

"What'd you say?" I repeated, he sighed.

"I told him that if he ever hurt you again the way he had, that I'd rip his head off, do a number of other violent things to him, destroy his music from the world of the living, and burn his collection of hats." he answered, I licked my lips.

"When?" I asked, clenching my teeth. Rose scratched his head, moving his other hand out of my tight grip.

"Today when I found out he'd apologized to you." he replied.

I searched his eyes, trying to see if he was lying about when he'd talked to Shinji. I almost shook my head, seeing that he wasn't lying to me. So, Shinji had hugged me and looked at me that way because he'd _wanted_ to. Maybe…he did have feelings for me.

"I was trying to find a way around your conditions for a good number of days Imouto." he admitted. I smirked, happy that I was so intelligent.

"Uh huh…arigato Rose." I said, lowering my eyes. "I didn't mean to over react and kill your hand." He chuckled, patting the top of my head.

"My hand is fine Kaori, nothing to be worried about." Rose said; I looked up, smiling sweetly at him. He smiled back, running his hand across the top of my head, I glared. He'd better stop if he knew what was good for him.

"Rose." I warned. He removed his hand, chuckling a little.

"Gomen Kaori, I need to be going now. Tons of paperwork." he said, I nodded. He exited my office, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah right, like _you're _behind on paperwork." I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest. "You just wanna play the damn guitar."

I wrinkled my nose and finally hopped up from my seat. I grabbed a bunch of files, heading over to the filing cabinet. I sighed to myself, opening up the bottom drawer. I went through the pile boredly, putting files in the bottom drawer where they needed to go. After I'd finished, I moved on to the next drawer. Before I even managed to realize it, I'd almost finished and had just the top drawer left. I reached my hand up, pulling it open and groaned. Why couldn't I be just a _little_ taller. This wasn't fair, now I was going to have to grab a stool or something to stand on. This wasn't cool in the least. Why couldn't they have just been nice to me and not have given me such a tall file cabinet?

I groaned loudly, reaching my hand up, trying to put the file in its correct place. I smiled feeling a pair of arms go around my waist from behind me, pulling me up so I could see into the drawer. I put the file in its place and looked back, I giggled seeing it was Shinji.

"Ooi." I greeted, sounding sweet. He chuckled, placing me back on my feet.

"Where's that useless fukutaichou of yers?" he asked sarcastically, picking the files up from the floor. "Shouldn't he be doin' this for ya?" I shook my head, walking to my desk, and leaning against it.

"He's training my newbies right now." I told him, leaning back on my hands. "I got the paperwork done early and wanted to put it away." He nodded, putting the files up for me. I smiled a little, realizing how much I'd truly missed talking to him. Why was he able to confuse my hormones the way he did?

"Ya coulda waited." he suggested, I shrugged. I was impatient, he of all people should've known that.

"I didn't wanna." I stated, ruffling my hair to make it messy…and to make myself look a little more attractive. I almost slapped myself at that thought, but I forced myself not to. That would've looked incredibly weird, and Shinji might've thought I was going mad or something.

"Yer such a complicated woman." he mumbled, I giggled in amusement at how right he was.

"Eh, you know ya love me." I teased.

He closed the file cabinet, looking over at me. I felt my breath catch in my throat, and my heart pounding against my ribs. He was staring at me so intensely again, staring right through my eyes into my heart…damn him. I really _had _fallen for Hirako Shinji, and I was extremely pissed at myself for it. How had he managed to make me fall for him, how had he done this to me? How the hell…? I swallowed when he took a step towards me and felt my cheeks go dark when he moved my side-bangs out of my eyes. I lowered my eyes, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't give it away that I liked him and said with a blunt tone

"Shinji, back off. You're already out of trouble, don't fuck yourself over." I heard him chuckle, and he kissed my forehead. "Harassment!" I exclaimed, jerking my arms infront of my face. He laughed again, gently taking my arms, and I looked up into his eyes. "Nani?" I asked, wondering why he wouldn't get out of my face. I was starting to feel nervous again.

"Come on the roof with me." he asked of me, I nodded in agreement.

"Alright, the office is too cramped anyway." I muttered, moving my arms out of his grip.

I hopped over to my desk, ignoring Shinji's chuckles, and wrote a quick note to Youta; I didn't want him worrying about me again. I glanced over at Shinji standing by my window, and he climbed out the window. I sighed, following out behind him, and groaned in pain making a not so elegant landing. I pouted, rubbing my lower back and looked up hearing Shinji laughing. I glared slightly, smiling a bit when he took my hands, pulling me to my feet. We hopped up onto the roof of my division, sitting down beside each other, and proceeded to watch the sunset together. This was something we had always done together as children, but the tradition hadn't really carried itself over into Gotei 13. I'd always enjoyed watching the sunset with him, it felt like all my worries and fears just disappeared. I wanted to hold onto the feeling that Shinji cared about me, for as long as I could.

"People are sayin some pretty funny stuff down there." Shinji observed, resting his elbow on the leg he'd pulled to his chest. I nodded in agreement, crossing my legs, and placing my hands in my lap.

"Yeah, they're saying we're together or something of the sort." I stated boredly, watching the colors streaking across the sky. "When did we start dating again?" Shinji chuckled, I watched him shrug his shoulders out of the corner of my eye.

"Beats me Kaori." he said, sounding amused. "I guess it started during the time we weren't talkin." I giggled to myself, nodding a bit.

"I suppose so, poor little Kazuma." I teased, stretching my legs out.

I laid back on the roof, putting my hands behind my head, and crossed my legs at my ankles. I let a sigh pass through my parted lips and glanced towards Shinji. I bit my lower lip, absentmindedly studying his appearance. I hadn't really ever put much thought into studying people, but I couldn't help it right now. Shinji was just…so…gorgeous. I let my eyes travel, without really thinking about the consequences of doing so. His hair was long a flowy, the blonde color to it was such a lovely shade. His eyes were amazing, just the way he stared at me sometimes, got my head spinning. He was skinny, so what? He was strong as fuck and a very powerful taichou. When he smiled one of those rare genuine smiles, I couldn't help but blush. I loved seeing him looking so caring, but I only liked it when he directed that smile towards _me_.

As I thought more and more about his appearance, the more I started thinking about how no one could measure up to him. He was just, perfect to me. I swallowed, not thinking about what my body was doing, and sat up, scooting closer to him. I took a strand of his hair in-between my fingers, staring at it intently. It really was a beautiful shade of blonde, and it was so soft. Did he really take care of his hair this well? I moved my eyes up from his hair, immediately meeting his. His grey eyes were boring into my green ones, one of those intense stares again. I could feel my heart fluttering in my chest, my breathing getting harder, my head going groggy…this wasn't good. I didn't think I'd be able to stop myself from kissing him, I had to divert my gaze…how was I supposed to get myself to do that though?

I forced myself to lower my eyes and I put my arms around him, hugging him tightly. His arms immediately went around my petite body, holding me close to him. I couldn't believe I was getting _this_ intimate with him, with fucking Hirako Shinji. Out of all the people in Seireitei, it had to be him that I was having these feelings towards. Why did it have to be him, why couldn't it have been someone else? Things were going to get so much more complicated than they already were, and I knew that I had to keep this a secret as long as I possibly could. I had to keep myself away from him, romantically of course. I knew I wouldn't be able to stay away from him even if I wanted to. The two weeks we hadn't spoken had been torture, and I know I couldn't do it again. As long as I spoke to him as a friend, I was sure I could ignore these feelings. I _had _to.

"Kaori?" I looked up at Shinji, meeting his eyes again.

"Hai?" I asked, trying not to sound quiet.

"What's on yer mind Kaori-chan?" he asked, sounding concerned; I lowered my eyes.

"I…don't want her to hurt you." I told him, hiding my face behind my hair. "She's…she uses people Shinji. How do you know she's not using you?" I looked up at him through my hair, wondering how he could be so blind. He smiled at me, a genuine smile, and said

"I just know Kaori." I nodded, leaning my head against his shoulder. "Trust me, won't ya?" I let out a sigh before saying

"Sure, whatever you say." He chuckled, and I almost froze feeling his lips against the top of my head.

"Come now my little love, why so worried?" he teased, I pushed him away from me angrily.

That asshole, how could he be bold enough to do that to me? He acted all intimate, then he fucking kissed my head, then he gave me a fucking nickname? Not even a nickname, a _pet _name. His little love? Begging your pardon, but we were not together. He couldn't give me a nickname/pet name like _that_. People would _really_ start talking if they heard him call me that. Especially since he was seeing Satomi, they would think he was cheating on her with me. I'd be called a whore…I wouldn't stand for that. I glared at him, scooting back over to my spot.

"_Never _call me that again Hirako." I said darkly. He chuckled, knowing that he'd just managed to piss me off.

"Aw, I can't have a nickname fer ya?" he asked, I narrowed my eyes.

"Nickname?" I asked slowly. I shook my head to myself, not amused in the least by his antics. Especially since I was secretly flattered that he'd called me that. "That's not a nickname damn it, a nickname would be something like Kai-chan or something. 'My little love' on the other hand, that's a fucking _pet_ name." He laughed, reaching out to me. I glared again when he patted my shoulder and moved out of his touch.

"Aw, ya don't like it?" he taunted, I wrinkled my nose annoyed. "I thought it suited ya rather well, I guess I'll hafta take what I can get. Right _Kai-chan_?" I clenched my teeth and said angrily

"Use it for your whore." He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Nah, it doesn't work with her." he told me, I stared back up at the sky. I felt his arm go around my shoulders, and I flicked my eyes over to him. "No need ta get so offensive, I'm just playin Kaori." I sighed, nodding a bit.

"You're such a womanizer." I mumbled, he poked my cheek.

"That's not a very nice thing ta say to yer friends." he teased, I rolled my eyes.

"Uh huh, yeah yeah." He sighed, I rubbed my arm in an attempt to occupy my thoughts.

"Well…I guess I better split, ya don't seem ta want me around anymore." he said, I felt my heart sink. I didn't want him to stay right now because he'd just confused me shitless, but I didn't want him thinking I was angry with him either. What was the right thing for me to say?

"Just not right now." I clarified, scratching my head. "We'll hang tomorrow if you learn some manners by then." He chuckled, running his hand down my arm. I almost shivered at the contact but managed not to. "Shinji." I warned. He laughed a little and removed his arm from my shoulders.

"Fine Kai-chan, see ya later." he said, sounding rather amused.

I nodded slightly and _literally_ froze, feeling him lips press against my cheek. Next thing I knew, he'd shunpoed away, leaving me so fucking confused. I touched my cheek where he'd kissed me and shook my head to myself.

"That jerk."

* * *

_**The pendulum swings forward. **_

_**The story rewinding backwards to the past will pause for an instant, so that we may take a look back into the future. **_

_**The decisions made during the present, will greatly affect future events.**_

* * *

"How the hell do ya always manage ta do this?" Shinji complained, I giggled in amusement. This was going to be a long night. "Every fucking time we go out, ya always hafta draw attention ta yerself. Dontcha?" I shrugged to myself, kissing his cheek.

"Gomen." I said, sounding cute.

He groaned in annoyance, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. I bit down on my lower lip, giggling again. We were currently walking home from the club we'd just been in for a good three to four hours, and Shinji was angry with me. It wasn't my fault though, guys thought I was hot. I was wearing a black halter dress, that had some really nifty silver swirly designs on it, and it fell to about mid-thigh level. It showed off a very small amount of cleavage, and it was pretty easy to move in. It had a bit of a flary bottom but not too much, and it was a little more tight fitting up top. I'd done my hair the way I normally did, but I still looked amazing. Shinji's jaw had dropped earlier, but now he wasn't really too happy. Since a good _ten_ guys had hit on me. I grabbed onto his wrist and tilted my head to the side.

"Please don't be angry with me, I can't help it I'm hot." I said, sounding really conceited.

Shinji groaned, rolling his eyes. The rest of the gang were a little way behind us, talking amongst themselves, ignoring our conversation. They wanted to give us a little bit of privacy since we were arguing a bit.

"Ya always hafta dress in somethin' that draws attention to yerself." he grumbled, I pouted.

"Shin-kun." I whined, kissing his cheek again. "It's just black, nothing too flashy about that." He rolled his eyes, slipping his arm around my waist.

'And the winner is…KAORI!'

"Yer too damn beautiful fer yer own good." he muttered under his breath, I smiled a little.

"You love me." I stated, he looked into my eyes nodding.

"Very much." I smiled, lightly kissing his lips.

I didn't want Rose to be angry with me…again. Kissing would have to wait until we got home. I sighed, moving a little closer to Shinji, and wrapped my arms around his waist. He grinned, keeping his arm around me, but he stopped walking. I looked at him confused, what was going on?

"It seems you felt my reiatsu." a male voice said.

I looked away from Shinji, towards the voice. I smiled to myself, seeing that it was Yoruichi in her cat form. I hadn't talked to her in ages, but I could recognize that form of hers anywhere. I could hear everyone's footsteps stop behind us, and the talking ceased. They must've been curious as to why Yoruichi was here as well.

"To what do we owe this pleasure, Yoruichi-san?" I asked, smiling a little.

"Kisuke wished for me to find you lot, he wanted to speak with you about some of the events going on here." she said, getting straight to the point. Shinji nodded, looking back at the gang.

"Do ya all wanna come ta Kisuke's?" he asked.

Lisa walked off, silently saying no. Love followed behind her, agreeing. Kensei walked away as well, closely followed by Mashiro. I knew they all didn't want to hear about all the Shinigami stuff going on, it hit a nerve for all of us to a different degree. Shinji would still tell them later about everything, I guessed they just wanted to put it off for a while. I looked at Rose and Hiyori still standing there, and Rose finally said

"I will, I've been quite curious about these Bounts." Hiyori nodded in agreement, saying

"I just need ta beat the shit outa my former Taichou."

I giggled, looking at Shinji. He didn't even ask me to know that I was coming as well, I wouldn't pass up a chance to see Urahara. He was a pretty good friend and hilarious as fuck, I need a good laugh right about now. Shinji looked at Yoruichi and nodded.

"It's just us then."

Yoruichi nodded, understanding why the rest of the group didn't want to hear anything, and led us off towards Urahara's shop. We walked in the shop, following Yoruichi to a table, and plopped down.

"I need to inform Kisuke you all have arrived, please wait here." she said, we nodded. She walked off through a door, and I turned my attention to Shinji.

"What do you think he's gonna tell us?" I asked, cuddling close to him. He shrugged, placing his arm back around my waist.

"No clue, maybe everything going on with Kurosaki." he guessed. I nodded, absentmindedly licking my lips. I watched a little black haired girl walk into the room and she set a tray infront of us, loaded down with tea and cookies.

"Arigato sweetie." I said politely. She smiled, nodding, and bounced out of the room. I giggled, grabbing a cookie, and munched on it. "So good." I moaned, Shinji laughed in amusement.

We sat there a little longer, munching on cookies and tea, before Urahara walked in. He didn't really seem all that different from the last time I'd seen him. He still wore those wooden sandals of his, and that same green and white striped hat. He was the same old Urahara. Before anyone had a chance to say anything, Hiyori's fist collided with Urahara's face. I giggled, watching Hiyori hit him again, and he took her fist out of his face.

"Goodness Hiyori, still violent as ever I see." he joked. Hiyori scoffed and planted herself back in her seat. It looked like her work here was done, for now anyway.

"Kisuke." Shinji said, sounding serious. Urahara nodded and sat across from us. He pulled out a fan and said

"How are your gigais fairing?"

"Rather well." Rose replied, taking a drink of tea afterwards. Urahara nodded, looking happy to receive that as an answer and said

"Good, but you all know that's not the reason you're here." We all nodded and I licked my lips, saying

"Then what is Kisuke? Something about these Bount things?" Urahara nodded in agreement, waving his fan around his face.

"Shinji has updated you all about the Bounts, correct?" he asked, we nodded. "Well, quite the number of things have happened in the past few days."

"Like what?" Shinji asked. Urahara sighed and said

"It seems as though, the Bounts have broken into Soul Society."

Oh how the drama escalates.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, there you are. Chapter Ten has officially been uploaded, woot! Mwahahahaha, Shinji's such a confusing bastard. Kaori's about ready to kick his ass again, I do believe. But anyway, the next chapter I put up will _NOT_ be Chapter Eleven. The next chapter will be an extra scene that I wrote, pertaining to Kaori and Shinji's childhood and such. The FIVE REVIEWS that you do for this chapter, will go towards Chapter Eleven's upload. I don't feel the need to make you review for the Extra's since they're not an actual part of the series so...there you go.**

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* * *

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_PREVIEW: CHAPTER__ ELEVEN_

_"Nande? I hate being a taichou sometimes, it's shit." I complained. Youta laughed in amusement, shaking his head to himself._

_"People would kill for your job, and you don't want it Taichou?" he teased, I rolled my eyes at that._

_"Hai, it's troublesome." I mumbled, opening the first folder. _

_I heard him chuckle, before he head over to the file cabinet. I went through the paperwork, assigning missions to my division members. I felt my lips stretch into a grin, so a member of division four needed to be accompanied to the world of the living eh? For a month even? This was perfect, Satomi would be out of my hair for a good month. Even better, she'd be away from Shinji for a good month. How great was this day turning out to be?_


	13. Extra: Scene Two

_**Click**_

_**Click**_

_**Click**_

_**These are the only sounds echoing in the black, three seconds intervals between the clicks.**_

_**A golden pendulum is suspended in the air, slowly swinging back and forth, to and fro.**_

_**In order to understand the future, it is evident that we most know the past.**_

_**In order to understand relationships, we must know the very beginning of them.**_

_**In order to further understand people, we must know their history.**_

_**The golden pendulum slows to a halt, stopping time for a mere instant.**_

_**The pendulum begins to swing in reverse, going further into the past then we'd ever ventured before.**_

* * *

Hirako Shinji stared around his room boredly, waiting for the right moment to finally come around. He was attempting to wait patiently, but it wasn't working out too well in his favor. He was feeling quite impatient at the moment and wished his parents would just fall asleep. It was already eleven, he'd been waiting in here for a good three hours now, how much longer would he have to wait? The preteen furrowed his brow, huffing in annoyance. Why did parents always stay up late into the night? He didn't think he'd ever understand what they had to talk about. They were parents for god's sake, it wasn't like they still talked about anything romantic. Parents weren't supposed to do that, they were too old. So why the hell did they need to stay up talking about pointless shit?

He growled quietly, hopping up from his bed. He crossed the floor of his room, turned around, and went back to the other side. Pacing, it was always a way he occupied his time before he snuck out. Not that his parents cared _too _much about him sneaking out, but he always wound up getting an extremely long speech if he was caught. He didn't really feel like getting caught tonight since a very important event would be taking place, so he was going to force himself to stay in his room until he heard the sound of…

'Dad's snoring, 'bout time.' He grinned, moving to grab his bag off the floor. He slung it over his shoulder, stealthily sneaking over to his window. He pushed the window open as quietly as he could, slung his left leg over the side before his right followed suit. He looked down towards the ground, his house was two stories so he had to make sure he made this jump. He held onto the drain pipe outside his window, moving to stand on the windowsill, and took a deep breath. He jumped, managing to land on a sturdy tree branch. He grinned to himself, feeling especially proud of his accomplishment, and hopped down to a lower branch.

After a good fifteen seconds, he made it to the ground and dusted off his black shorts. He adjusted his backpack on his shoulder and crept away from the house, moving into the streets of Rukongai. Not too many people were out, but he wasn't too surprised by it. There were a few little kids running the streets, a few adults closing up their little shops, and a couple kids around his age hanging around, waiting for their own friends to sneak out.

"Ooi, Hirako!" someone greeted, Shinji waved a lazy hand at him.

"The plan still on for tonight?" he inquired, the brunette nodded in agreement.

"Fifteen minutes."

Shinji nodded at the answer, continuing down the street, waving to those preteens who spoke to him. He grinned when he finally made it to the Otoribashi household, his grey eyes flicking to Kaori's window. Her bedroom was on the second floor so that meant he'd be climbing a tree again. He studied the house for a moment, all the lights were out. A frown made it's way onto his face, if she was asleep he'd kill the green-haired girl. He slowly made his way into the yard, dropping his backpack by the tree. He took a deep breath, bending his knees and jumped. He grabbed a hold of the tree branch, planting his feet on the trunk of the tree, and hauled himself onto the branch. He climbed up another three branches before he made it right outside Kaori's room. He took another deep breath and jumped, landing on her tiny balcony. He grinned to himself, quickly fixing his white short sleeved button up, and lightly knocked on the glass door. He was standing out there maybe five seconds before the door slid open.

There she was, looking fully awake and dressed in her usual non-matching attire. Her hair was pulled into her low pigtails, a pair of bright green basketball shorts were covering her legs, a violet spaghetti strapped top, and a red bandana tied loosely around her throat.

"Shinji." she said quietly, making sure to keep her voice down.

If her parents woke up, they were toast and both preteens knew it. They'd be pissed off to find out that Shinji was there so late at night, and her parents would make sure not to let her hang out with the blonde for at least three days…or more. She moved out of her room, sliding the door shut behind her. She turned to face her blonde friend, a huge smile on her lips.

"What're you doing here?" she inquired, Shinji grinned.

"We're sneakin' out." he told her, she giggled quietly.

"Are we?" she teased, he rolled his eyes.

"Come on, I'll have ya back before morning anyway." he promised, she rolled her eyes.

"What about Rose?" she questioned, he rolled his grey orbs at the nickname.

He, along with the rest of the boys, had finally understood what a Rose was after Shinji's first day of meeting Kaori. Apparently, she'd given the nickname to him back when she was merely an infant. She hadn't been able to say Rojuro since she hadn't been speaking too long, and she'd just called him Rose. Now, even Shinji found himself calling Rojuro by his sister's loving nickname.

"Eh, who cares. You know he doesn't sneak out in the first place." Shinji snorted, Kaori giggled quietly.

"I guess so." she mumbled, he let out a sigh.

"Kaori, you know as well as I do that yer Oni-chan's a goody goody." the blonde pointed out, the girl stuffed her fist in her mouth to keep herself from agreeing. "See, ya even agree."

"Do not." she disagreed, removing her fist from her mouth. Shinji raised an eyebrow skeptically at her answer, that was a lie. "So what if he is?" He knows how to have fun-"

"When it don't involve breakin' rules." Shinji intercepted, the greenette hung her head in defeat.

"Fine, you're right. He's a goody goody, it's not his fault though. He feels like he has to be the responsible one since he's older." she stated, trying to stick up for her older twin.

"By what?" Shinji scoffed, crossing his arms over his lean chest. "Two frickin' minutes?" Kaori lowered her eyes and mumbled embarrassed

"Four actually." She glanced up to see Shinji chuckling quietly, covering his mouth to stifle the noise. She wrinkled her nose in annoyance and lightly shoved his shoulder. "Shut it you jerk." He moved his hand away from his mouth and grinned at her.

"Can we just go already?" he pressed, she sighed quietly to herself.

"Okay." she agreed.

Shinji grabbed her hand, pulling her to the end of the balcony. He turned his face away from her, releasing her hand, and moved to stand on the railing. He stared at the tree, trying to find a good branch to aim for during his jump. The ones closest to them looked a little flimsy, he'd have to make sure they'd be careful if they landed on those. He took a breath and turned to Kaori, saying

"Be careful when ya jump, you might wanna-" He stopped seeing her back up to her door before taking off across the balcony and doing a running jump, not so gracefully landing on a sturdy tree branch.

"Itai." she mumbled, Shinji chuckled quietly.

He took a short breath, jumping over to her. He landed next to the younger girl, raising an eyebrow at her. It was her own fault she'd hurt her bottom, if she would've been a little more careful it wouldn't have happened.

"I toldja to be careful." he taunted, she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Shaddup." she grumbled in annoyance.

He rolled his eyes at her tone of voice, offering a hand to the green haired girl. She smiled gratefully, taking his hand. Shinji pulled Kaori to her feet and turned his attention to getting out of the tree. He carefully moved down the tree, saying

"Wait till I get down, and I'll catch ya." Kaori pouted, wrinkling her nose at the suggestion.

"Nande?" she complained. "You think I can't climb down on my own?" Shinji rolled his eyes, what a complicated girl.

"Just do it." he ordered, mumbling something else under his breath.

She crossed her arms over her chest, not knowing Shinji was mumbling quietly to himself. She knew Shinji wouldn't shut up unless she agreed, she didn't understand why he acted like he did. She hadn't perfected her tree climbing skills, but she could still climb down trees without breaking any bones, she'd only have a few scrapes or something. Why was Shinji so concerned about a few scrapes? He was like a second older brother sometimes with the way he acted.

"Fine." She sighed in defeat, watching Shinji make it back into the safety of the grass.

"Jump." he instructed, she nodded.

She carefully jumped out of the tree, plummeting towards the ground. Shinji easily caught the girl bridal style, setting her feet on the ground seconds later. He ignored the blush on his cheeks, grabbing his backpack, and nodded towards the streets.

"C'mon."

She nodded eagerly, wondering what Shinji's plans for tonight were. They silently walked away from the house, heading into the streets. Once they were a good distance away from her home, Kaori didn't keep her mouth shut any longer.

"What's goin' on Shinji?" she pried, poking his cheek.

He rolled his eyes, poking her nose in response. He turned his attention away from her, thinking over his plans for the evening. Kaori crossed her arms over her chest, pursing her lips in annoyance. What was his problem, why was he keeping secrets from her?

"Shinji!" she whined after he didn't say anything for a good minute.

"Shush." he ordered, she wrinkled her nose angrily.

"You can't tell me what to do Hirako Shinji." Kaori snapped, not liking how he was beginning to sound exactly like her older brother.

She didn't want to have another brother, especially an _older _one. She was perfectly content with having a best guy friend, but it seemed as though Shinji was beginning to turn into an older brother even though she didn't want him to. Shinji rolled his eyes at the look she was giving him, she was a complicated girl indeed.

"Kaori, it-"

"I'm not just some girl you can boss around Shinji." Kaori interrupted, sounding rather annoyed with him.

"I never said-"

"I have a brain and I can think for myself, arigato gosaimasu." she said, interrupting him again.

"I know tha-"

"And I don't let anyone boss me around." she finished, interrupting him for the third time.

Shinji bowed his head to the ground, sighing to himself. Couldn't Kaori just shut her little trap for once and listen to what other people had to say? She was such an assertive girl and could be such a bother at times, he didn't ever think he understood how he managed to get along with this troublesome girl.

"Then why're ya still followin me?" he inquired, she wrinkled her nose. Shinji glanced up and chuckled quietly at her face, resisting the urge to full out laugh at her. He'd just totally owned her.

"I'm curious." she replied instantly, ignoring the blush on her cheeks.

Shinji rolled his eyes, placing an arm around the girl's shoulders. Kaori felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth but ignored it, still feeling frustrated that her best friend was keeping secrets from her.

"Why won't you just tell me where we're going?" she grumbled, Shinji laughed quietly in amusement.

"Nosy." he accused, she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Am not!" she whined, he laughed at her tone of voice. "Just because I wanna know, doesn't mean I'm nosy."

"Isn't that the definition of nosy though?" Shinji pondered, she grumbled at the point the had.

"So?" Shinji smiled at his friend, tightening his arm around her shoulders into a one-armed hug.

"Whatever, I just wanit ta be a surprise." he told her, she sighed quietly.

"Fine." she complained, he chuckled quietly. "You're almost as bad as Oni-chan when it comes to secrets." Shinji rolled his eyes at the comparison, rubbing her arm affectionately with his thumb.

"Eh, ya know that's not true." he commented, she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Yeah?" he questioned, wondering what was on her mind.

"What about all those different times you wouldn't tell me things?" she reminisced, smiling mischievously. "We would wind up getting dragged home by all the store owners whose stores we trashed, that was all your fault. Now we're not aloud in over half the stores anymore unless we have a parent with us. Oh, and how about when we got in fights with those annoying Ayuta boys and then we were grounded forever because we broke one of their arms or something. Or what about when we were taken home by those Shinigami when we-"

"Oh shut it Kaori." Shinji snapped, interrupting her long speech. Kaori chuckled quietly in amusement, knowing the Shinji had just realized that she was right. "Stop complaining 'bout being kept in the dark, ya need ta just enjoy surprises fer once."

"Fine fine." she grumbled, pouting to herself.

They both continued down the streets, Kaori noted that they were completely empty except for kids around their age. The kids weren't staying in the streets though, they were all heading off in the same direction as Shinji and herself. She moved her eyes to Shinji, wondering what was going on. Couldn't he have just told her so she wouldn't need to feel so nosy and uninformed? Apparently not because it would've ruined his all amazing surprise, what a load of bull. She sighed quietly, putting her arms behind her head as she walked, Shinji's hand slid off her shoulder. This was quite frustrating, she felt like she was the only person that didn't know what was going on. She wrinkled her nose and looked up at the blonde, nodding to herself; he was definitely keeping something huge from her.

Shinji finally led her out of the streets, off into one of the meadows they normally hung out in to play soccer. She tilted her head to the side, moving her arms down to her sides. Now she was _sure_ she was the only one that didn't know what was going on. There were a good number of kids their age hanging around there, what was going on tonight? She looked back to Shinji, lightly poking his cheek.

"Shinji." she whined pathetically, the blonde moved his eyes to the girl. "What's goin' on here?" A grin spread across his face as he shrugged to the greenette, poking her forehead.

"Ya don't need to know yet." he told her, she scrunched up her nose in annoyance.

"Demo…everyone else acts like they know what's goin' on." she complained, pouting to herself. "Why'm I the only one who doesn't?" Shinji rolled his eyes, nosy girl.

"C'mon Kaori." he said, walking off towards one of the few trees in the meadow.

"Demo…"

She stopped, hanging her head in defeat. It didn't look like Shinji was going to tell her anything, she was just going to have to wait this out for once. That didn't go over to well with her either, she didn't like when things were kept from her. But what she hated even more, was when _Shinji _kept things from her, he was her best friend after all. Kaori followed Shinji to the tree, crossing her arms pouting again. This was all just darn frustrating, she was driving herself insane.

Shinji looked over his shoulder at the girl, another grin spreading across his face. He could tell how annoyed she was getting, but he wasn't going to tell her and ruin all his fun. Her getting all impatient and flustered like this, was working to his benefit. He knew how excited and happy she'd be once she found out what was going on, but she'd only be that happy if she had been all annoyed and angry beforehand. He chuckled quietly at her famous pouting face and once they'd made it to the tree, he flicked her forehead affectionately.

"Itai." she whined, rubbing at the red mark. "Shinji, that hurt."

"Then stop staring off inta space, and I won't hafta do that again." he advised, she grumbled quietly in annoyance.

He rolled his eyes at Kaori, moving his backpack off his shoulder. Shinji pulled out a good sized black blanket, throwing it out on the ground, neatly spreading it out across the grass. He went through his bag again, tossing down a container of his grandmother's freshly baked cookies (since they were Kaori's favorite) and two bottles of water onto the blanket.

Kaori watched the blonde, smiling a little to herself. So would they be stargazing tonight then? She knew that he only brought the blanket when they looked at the stars together, naming off constellations. He'd even brought cookies too, it must've been some type of special occasion. Maybe he found out about some famous comet that only came around once every five hundred years or something, it was like Shinji to find out stuff like that. Shinji turned to the girl, saying

"Sit down, I'll be right back."

She rolled her eyes, plopping down on the blanket cross-legged as instructed, and watched Shinji walk away from her. She grinned to herself and reached for the container of chocolate chip cookies.

"And Kaori." She looked up, quickly moving her hand back in her lap. "Don't eat all the cookies." he added, a smirk on his lips.

"You always think I will." she stated, raising an eyebrow. Shinji rolled his eyes, slinging his backpack over his shoulder again.

"You have before." he pointed out. The green haired girl blushed a light shade of pink, rubbing her arm in embarrassment.

"I eat all the cookies _one _time, and you just can't let it go. Can you?" she complained, he chuckled softly to himself.

"Nah."

"Meany." she mumbled, he chuckled again.

"I'll be back doll." he promised.

"Yeah yeah."

She giggled quietly, staring at Shinji's retreating figure, and grabbed the container. She ripped the top off, grabbing one of the cookies, and took a bite. She moaned softly at how good they were, smiling to herself. They were even still warm, Shinji's grandmother was an awesome cook. Her cookies were the best, even better than her own grandmother's…dang Shinji for having an awesome grandmother. He needed to share his grandmother with her or something, she wanted awesome cookies like this every day for the rest of her life.

While Kaori was off in her own little world, munching on the "delicious" cookies, Shinji was talking with a one of his fellow comrades in this little operations he had planned. It was about time for it to start, and they were making the final plans and preparations to make it work perfectly. Shinji wrinkled his brow, nodding a little to the brunette boy standing next to him. It looked as though they hadn't been able to collect too many supplies, it was a good thing he was always prepared for situations like this.

"This's all we have." he told Shinji, a smirk came to the blonde's lips.

"That's why I brought these." He tossed his backpack to the brunette, grinning at his jaw dropped.

"Holy crap man. How'd ya get these?" he inquired, looking inside the backpack. Shinji's smirk widened in amusement, and he chuckled softly.

He sometimes wondered why people asked things like that anymore, they all knew Shinji was never going to let anyone in on his secrets so he didn't really understand why they continued to ask. He still found it hilarious though to keep them uninformed, especially when something happened to make their jaw drop...like now.

"I know a guy." he replied, being rather vague. The brunette grinned, saying

"Mind if I hold onto the bag?"

"Nah, go ahead. I've got someone I gotta distract while ya set the rest up." he explained, the other boy raised an eyebrow.

"Kaori right?" he guessed, the blonde boy nodded.

"Yeah, ya know how she is about secrets." he commented, the brunette nodded.

"Yeah, I get it. Go distract her, they'll be ready in five or so."

Shinji nodded in thanks, high-fiving his shorter friend, and head back across the field to Kaori. He was so excited about how tonight would turn out, he couldn't wait to see the look on Kaori's face when she found out what was going on. He grinned to himself, shoving his hands in his pockets as he did so, and looked back over his shoulder at his comrade. His grin widened seeing him setting everything up, perfect. He looked back in the direction of Kaori and as he drew closer, his eagerness turned into utter amusement. He rolled his eyes, seeing _at least _eleven cookies having been devoured during his absence, and raised an eyebrow at the green haired girl.

Kaori looked up from munching on her eleventh cookie, her jaw dropping when she saw Shinji standing there. She quickly closed her mouth, realizing there was still chewed cookie in it, and felt a blush stain her cheeks.

"You pig!" Shinji shouted, Kaori swallowed the rest of the cookie.

"Nani?" she whined, Shinji rolled his eyes again.

"You ate half the cookies." he complained, she grimaced.

"Gomen…they're really yummy though." she apologized, pouting sweetly. Shinji let out a soft sigh and hung his head, a few stray strands of blonde falling out of his ponytail.

"No biggie." he grumbled, Kaori tilted her head to the side.

She felt a little bad for making him upset. Ok, little was an understatement. She felt _extremely _bad, she guessed she could let him have the rest of the cookies. He plopped down beside her, taking a swig from his water bottle.

"Shinji?" Shinji looked over at the younger girl, she pushed the container of cookies over to him. "You can have the rest." she offered, he grinned his normal shit-eating grin at her.

"Geez Kaori, don't get too emotional. I was playin." he laughed, her jaw dropped.

"You jerk." she exclaimed, punching him in the arm.

"Itai!" he shouted, rubbing his forearm. "What's yer deal? First ya say sorry, then ya hit me. Crazy girl."

"What'd you call me?" she yelled angrily, raising her fist threateningly. Shinji narrowed his eyes, glaring at her.

"Insane, crazy, psycho, maniac-" She punched him in the face this time, shutting up his words.

"Try calling me that stuff again, I dare you." she threatened, he grinned at her.

"Or what? You'll tell yer Oni-chan I was mean to ya?" he teased, she growled angrily at him.

"You're dead Hirako!" she screamed, pouncing at him.

"Agh!"

Kaori tackled the blonde boy to the ground, making to punch at his face. Shinji moved his head to the side, barely avoiding the blow, and managed to turn over so Kaori wasn't practically laying on him. She made to claw at his eyes but he whacked her hand away, pinning it down against the grass.

"Kaori, calm your ass down." he snapped, she wrinkled her nose.

"You started it." she accused, he rolled his eyes.

"Really now?" he mused, she narrowed her olive green eyes into a death glare.

"Hirako Shinji, you're so-" she started.

"Kaori."

"I can't believe you would be-" she continued, ignoring his interruption.

"Kaori."

"I thought I was your best-" she ranted angrily.

"Kaori!"

"Nani?" she growled, wondering why he kept interrupting her. He moved off her and pointed towards the sky, she looked at him confused.

"Look." he instructed, she looked up on command.

She gasped quietly seeing the fireworks go off and slapped a hand over her mouth in surprise. There were all sorts of colors, blues and greens, yellows and reds, so this was the secret Shinji had been keeping from her. Kaori pushed herself off the ground and wrapped her arms around her legs, pulling her knees to her chest. She set her chin between her knees and stared up towards the night sky, marveling at all the glorious colors exploding in the air.

The greenette felt a smile tug at her lips and glanced over at the blonde boy next to her. He had a huge grin on his face as he stared up at the fireworks, he was more than likely mentally gloating at how worked up he'd gotten her. Although she wanted to be pissed off at him, she couldn't make herself. No one had ever done anything so special for her in her entire life, she was thankful that she had such an amazing best friend.

"So this was it then?" she guessed, he nodded.

"Uh huh." he said blankly, she felt her smile widen.

"You did all this…for me?" she questioned, he nodded without looking at her.

"Ya'va never seen fireworks before, it was about time ya saw 'em." he told her, she nodded in agreement.

"Demo…you did all _this_…just so I could see some pretty lights in the sky?" she pressed, he nodded again.

"Pretty much." he answered, she tackled him with a hug. They both made a rough impact to the ground as she continued to hug him tightly around the torso, Shinji felt the blood rush to his cheeks.

"Arigato, arigato, arigato Shinji. You're the bestest friend ever." she exclaimed, Shinji coughed nervously.

"Easy there chicky, don't strangle me." he teased, she loosened the hug by a bit.

"Gomen nasai, I can't help it. You're awesome, I can't believe you did this for me. Arigato." she said, thanking him for what felt like the billionth time.

"No prob Kaori, seriously." he said, attempting to shrug.

The girl smiled sweetly at him and moved off him, sitting down next to him but not before planting a soft kiss on his cheek. He felt his blush go darker and shoved a cookie in his mouth, trying to keep himself from saying anything to her. She giggled quietly at all the fireworks, her smile widening in happiness.

'I can't believe Shinji did all this, just for me. I didn't ever imagine I would find such a good friend, and a _boy _believe it or not. I just…this is so crazy. But…what is this funny feeling in my stomach? It's like-'

"What the hell do you kids think you're doing?" some adult shouted. "Setting off fireworks by yourselves is illegal."

Kaori and Shinji's eyes met, a nervous grimace on both their faces; they were fucked.

* * *

**Author's Note: And the end of my cute little extra! I hope you all liked it, I had tons of fun writing it. I love Shinji and Kaori as children, it's just the best =] Chapter Eleven will be out either some time later this week, or early next week. Depending on how much writing I get done daily. I don't have access to a computer where I'm living now, so reviews may be a little slower than you remember...sorry dearies! Love you all =]**


	14. Chapter Eleven: And So He Returns

"They actually broke in." Kensei mumbled, we nodded in agreement.

We were currently sitting back at home in our little living room, informing the rest of the family that the Bounts had succeeded with breaking into Soul Society. No one seemed all that concerned about it, we didn't really care what happened to the Shinigami. After they'd betrayed us the way they had, what was the point in even bothering to care about them? We never really had found out if any of the other taichous, fukutaichou's, or anyone from our divisions had even bothered to protest to our sentence. Apparently not, since they'd wanted us dead. But anyway, we were more surprised than anything about the Bounts managing to enter Soul Society. We knew that Soul Society wouldn't let these things run around for too long. They would try to eliminate them as quickly as possible, that's what they'd tried to do to us after we'd become Visoreds. Thanks a fucking lot Aizen.

"And those children went after them." Rose stated, Lisa sighed.

"Of course." she muttered.

If you don't know who the children are that we're talking about, let me clarify it for you. Kurosaki Ichigo and his little gang went after the Bounts, into Soul Society. True, they're teenagers. To us though, they're kids. We're centuries older than them in the first place, so to us…they're like two and three year old toddlers. That's just how we saw them. I licked my lips, scratching my head.

"Do you think they'll survive?" Hachigen asked, taking a drink of the tea Mashiro had made for him. "They _are_ just children."

"Kurosaki's got strength." Shinji said, keeping his arm around my waist. I nodded, leaning my head against his shoulder, and snuggled my body closer to his.

"Not to mention a bloodthirsty Hollow inside him." I mumbled. Shinji ignored my comment and said

"If they don't survive, then he wasn't worth our time in the first place." We all nodded in agreement, and Hiyori stood up saying

"I'm tired of talkin' about this shit, I'm goin' ta bed."

I sighed quietly to myself, cuddling even closer to Shinji. I was rather tired myself, it was three thirty in the morning after all. I looked up at Shinji after Hiyori had walked out, pouting a bit.

"Can we talk about this later or something?" I asked sweetly. "I'm tired." Shinji sighed, kissing the side of my head, and nodded.

"Alright, go on ta bed. I'll meet ya there in a sec, gotta keep everyone else informed." he said, running his fingertips down my arm.

I didn't really like that Shinji wasn't coming straight to bed with me, but I didn't argue. He was our _unofficial_ leader, keeping everyone informed was his _unofficial _job. I yawned quietly and stood up, kissing his cheek.

"Oyasumi all." I said, rubbing my eye; they all nodded. I walked to Rose, kissing his cheek as well, and hugged him tightly. "Oyasumi Oni-chan."

"Oyasuminasai Imouto." he said, hugging me back.

I yawned again, wiggling out of his arms, and walked over to the stairs. I head up the stairs tiredly, yawning a good number of times, and finally made it to my bedroom. I pushed my door open, walked inside, and closed it. I head over to my dresser, looking for some jammies to wear for the night...or morning. Whatever you preferred to call it. I chewed on my lower lip in thought, going through my jammies, and finally pulled out a pair of black basketball shorts and a red t-shirt. I slipped off my heels, tossing them to the corner of my room, and shimmied out of my dress. I threw it in the floor, not really caring if it got dirty, and put my jammies on. I licked my lips, grabbing two ponytail holders off my night stand, and pulled my hair into low pigtails for bed. I didn't bother looking at my reflection, I didn't really care if I looked like shit. I was tired, and Shinji was just going to have to deal with it. He wasn't getting any sex tonight from me, there was no way; I was too tired and energy deprived.

I walked across the floor of my room, stretching my hands up in the air, yawning as I did so. I lowered my head tiredly, I really wanted to get some sleep. Even though my body was tired though, that didn't mean my brain was. It was deciding that it wanted to think about _everything _Urahara had told us about these Bounts and _everything_ going on with them. Well, strike that. It wasn't so much thinking about the Bounts, more about Kurosaki Ichigo. Gyaku had been right about his Hollow controlling him the other night. Urahara had confirmed it to us, he'd informed us that Kurosaki's Hollow was becoming stronger. Soon, it would manage to overpower him and take control of his body and actions.

Kurosaki really needed our help, his Hollow was going to eat him alive without our help. It had taken us so long to manage to really control our inner Hollows, they still managed to bother us sometimes. Bother us as in, they materialized for a little while, controlling the world around us. Like Gyaku had done to me the other night. We always had their voice in our head, that was just something we hadn't managed to get rid of yet. It was like a Zanpakuto in that aspect, we couldn't get rid of our Zanpakuto's voice in our head either. Not that I really wanted to, Motarasu Kumo was quite the awesome companion. I really looked up to his strength and everything, and it wasn't like he bothered me everyday. Sometimes he'd go days or longer without speaking to me because he wanted to give me some space. I always had Gyaku talking to me though, he didn't understand the word privacy nor did he _want _to understand it. He didn't care about giving me space, he wanted to harass me as much as he possibly could.

I sighed, taking another step, and felt the world chill around me. Oh shit, speak of the devil. I looked up towards my door, glaring when I saw Gyaku standing infront of me, blocking my exit. How the hell was he managing to do this, normally he wouldn't manage to get out of my inner world more than once every three months or so. What was happening here, was my strength dissolving? Or…was he just getting _that _much stronger? He tilted his head slightly, smirking at me. I felt my eyes narrow into a glare, it was on.

"_Konnichiwa, my dear princess." _he taunted, taking a step closer to me. I nodded, pursing my lips.

"Nani?" I asked coldly. "Need something?" He chuckled, making a clicking noise with his tongue.

"_Now now princess, do I need a reason to say hi to you?" _his cool voice teased, I let out a frustrated breath.

"You're always here for some god damn reason." I stated with an annoyed tone.

He narrowed his eight eyes, sonidoing over to me. I didn't even flinch when he appeared infront of me, but I deepened my glare when he grabbed my arms, pushing me up against the wall. I clenched my teeth at the roughness of my back hitting the wall, glancing over at the clock. It'd stopped, so he was in control for the time being. Luckily he was, I didn't want everyone knowing he was here. Especially since he was pushing me around like this.

"_Aww, did I hurt my princess?" _he cooed, I growled quietly. He chuckled in amusement, running his finger down my cheek. I forced myself not to snap at his hand like a wolf and flicked my eyes to his.

"Stop with the teasing." I growled, his smirk widened. "Why are you here?" He chuckled again, saying

"_Very well princess, they're in Soul Society." _I nodded in agreement.

"Hai, Kisuke told us earlier." He placed his hand above my hand, leaning in closer to me.

"_They have strength." _he informed me, I nodded again.

"Obviously, Kurosaki has an inner Hollow as well." I said, stating the obvious. Gyaku chuckled, shaking his head. "What's so funny?" He looked so amused, what was going on in his head?

"_I wasn't talking about that wimp." _he told me, I looked at him confused.

"Then who?" I asked, his smirk widened.

"_The Bounts." _I raised an eyebrow, the Bounts had strength huh? I doubted that, I _really _doubted that. What was Gyaku getting at? Was he getting worse at sensing reiatsu levels or something?

"How so?" I inquired, he gave me an amused look.

"_They're able to absorb reishi at rapid speed, twice as fast as those Quincy or the Shinigami." _he said smirking, my jaw dropped.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked shocked.

He shook his head, still smirking. He ran a finger down my arm, I barely noticed. I was too lost in my own thoughts to really care that he was touching me. If the Bounts could absorb reishi faster than Shinigami _and_ Quincy, they'd be invincible in Soul Society. Everything there was made of reishi, absolutely _everything._ I was starting to doubt that Kurosaki and the kids would manage to defeat those Bounts if they had _that_ level of strength. Instant healing…this wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. I licked my lips, still thinking, and my eyes locked with Gyaku's. He was still smirking, amused by my reaction to the new information. I swallowed, still staring at him.

"You think they'll lose…don't you?" I asked quietly, he nodded.

"_It's inevitable princess. They will lose, and they will die." _he laughed, I lowered my eyes.

"They can't lose." I whispered, ignoring his hand running over my arm. "We need Kurosaki, we have to help him control his Hollow."

"_It's too late princess, you can't help him now." _he teased.

I snapped my head up, glaring straight into his eyes. He wasn't going to bring me down, I wasn't going to believe anything he said. When had he ever told me the _honest _truth about the future? Never, and I wasn't going to start believing him now. The jerk was just trying to break my strength, and I refused to let that happen. He wasn't going to control me, I wouldn't allow him to. I was going to have faith in these kids, I knew they could win, I just knew it.

"I don't believe you, they'll win Gyaku. Those kids _will_ defeat the Bounts." I spat, his eyes narrowed into a glare.

"_Believe whatever you want princess. In the end, I'll be right." _he drawled, I shook my head.

"You're wrong, now get outa my face. I'm tired, and I want some sleep." I snapped, he growled quietly. "Go on, shoo." He scowled, moving away from me, and click. Time started up again. I walked back across the room to my door, jerked it open, and head down the hallway.

"_Smile princess, you wouldn't want to worry your knight. Would you?" _I glared hearing his voice _still_ in my head, couldn't he just go away for the time being?

'Back off, he'll already know something's bothering me. I can't ever hide anything from him, so there's no real point in trying.' He hissed inside my head, I was proud that I managed to piss him off to such a degree. I opened the door to Shinji's room and took a step inside.

"_Of course princess, you're just so weak that you can't take care of yourself."_ he teased.

"I'm not weak damn it!" I raged, slamming the door shut.

"Kaori?" I looked up, blushing when I saw Shinji had beat me there. He rushed to my side, taking both my arms. "What happened?" he asked, sounding concerned. His eyes held the same worry that his voice did, I knew he was _extremely _worried about my Hollow overpowering me.

"Nothing." I mumbled, looking down embarrassed.

He brought me close to him, holding me in his arms. I sighed contently, burying my face in his chest. Why couldn't Gyaku just leave me alone? He was making Shinji worry over me, and I didn't want him to worry over me like this. It tore me up inside to see him like this.

"What'd he say to ya?" he whispered, I shook my head.

"Nothing much." I said softly, wrapping my arms around his torso. "Just the usual." He sighed, burying his nose in my hair, and ran his hand down my back.

"Yer not weak Kaori." he mumbled, I nodded in agreement.

"I know, he's just being a jerk and trying to break my strength." I said, sighing a bit. He nodded, leading me to the bed, and we laid down together. I stared up into his eyes, sighing again. "He…came to me again." His eyes narrowed angrily, he knew Gyaku normally wasn't able to bother me this much.

"What'd he do to ya?" he asked, sounding protective; I shrugged.

"Pushed me against the wall." I said honestly, I didn't want to lie to him and get him angry with me. I knew he'd be able to see through the lie, and I really didn't want to _feel _like I had to lie to him. I wanted to feel like I could trust him with everything…and I did. "Touched my face and my arm, nothing too bad." He deepened his glare, looking royally pissed off.

"How dare he touch _my _Kaori." he said, he sounded _really _outraged…this wasn't good.

"Shinji, please calm down." I asked of him, placing my hand on his arm. "I don't want everyone knowing…especially Rose. Please."

He stared into my eyes, barely blinking. I held my breath, staring back into his. We stared at each other for a long while, I didn't know how long, time seemed to just stop. He moved his hand up, touching my cheek, and pressed his lips against mine. I smiled into the gentle kiss, moving my lips against his. There was so many different emotions in this kiss, lust wasn't one of them though. Neither was aggression, nor dominance, nor raw passion. It was filled with love, gentleness, compassion, and protectiveness. I could tell how much he cared about me through this kiss, it was one of the few that stood out to me. True, I could tell through _all _his kisses he cared about me. There were a few that stuck out to me though, like this one. I could just feel all those emotions, in a soft and gentle kiss. You wouldn't be able to understand it if you'd never experienced it so I don't know why I'm even bothering to explain it.

Shinji finally pulled back from my lips, staring into my eyes. I scooted closer to him, laying my head on his chest, and wrapped my arm around his body. I looked up at him through my lashes and he smiled a bit, pressing his lips against my forehead. I giggled quietly, cuddling close to him. After a few minutes of just enjoying each other's company, he made himself speak again.

"What'd he say?" he asked, still sounding pissed off, but not _as _pissed off. I sighed, closing my eyes.

"He was talking about the Bounts." I told him, I felt him place his hand on my lower back.

"What about 'em?" he pried, I sighed again. I didn't really feel like answering all these questions, but I knew I'd upset him even more than I already had tonight if I didn't .

"He said…that they can absorb reishi two times faster than the Quincy and Shinigami." I mumbled. I opened my eyes, looking up at him. He nodded, rubbing my back. "He says…they'll win." Shinji shook his head, disagreeing with Gyaku.

"There's no way those kids'll lose." he said, I nodded in agreement.

"I know, demo…he sounded so serious. It got me worried." I muttered, he kissed my forehead.

"Love, don't listen ta anything else he says. Everything'll work out, I promise." he said softly. I smiled a bit and nuzzled my head against his cheek. "Get some rest my little Kai-chan, tomorrow we're doin' something about this Gyaku." I looked up at him in shock, shaking my head.

"No, I don't want everyone knowing." I pleaded, sounding one hundred percent _pathetic_. He let out a sigh, rubbing my back.

"Kaori, we gotta do somethin' about him." he told me, I shook my head again.

"Please." I begged, he looked annoyed with me.

"Kaori-" I covered his mouth with my hand, hovering over him.

"If anything's gonna be done about him, it's gonna be just you and me. I don't want anyone else knowing." I told him, staring straight into his eyes. "It'll be our little secret, kay?"

He nodded, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was up to something. He took my hand away from his mouth, leaning up, and capturing my lips with his. I felt my eyes slip shut and moved my lips against his, kissing him passionately. And I didn't want to have sex earlier…depending on how this went, I might change my mind. He moved me under him, kissing below my jaw line, slowing moving down my neck. I bit down on my lower lip, moaning softly. I was still feeling really tired, and I knew everyone else in the warehouse was as well. Sex at four in the morning didn't sound very appealing, especially since I knew someone would walk in on us, telling us to shut up with the screaming. Maybe later on today would be a better time for this. I gasped feeling his hand rubbing my breast through my shirt, I _really _didn't think he was going to be willing to stop what he'd started. The jerk.

"Shinji please." I moaned, he chuckled in amusement. I needed to clarify what I was saying, he probably thought I meant 'don't stop'. I meant the exact opposite actually. "Not…this early." I heard him sigh in disappointment, he just had to be a jerk and bite down on my neck again. I hissed, shoving him off me. I sat up, rubbing my neck where he'd just bit me. "Damn it Shinji, I'm not in the mood for your shit this early." I complained, he chuckled again.

"Gomen my little love." he apologized, not meaning it in the least. "You're just so irresistible." I rolled my eyes at that one, still rubbing my neck.

"That hurt." I whined. He put his arm around my waist, pulling me over to him. I watched him take my hand in his and almost groaned feeling him press his lips against my neck. "Shinji…you jerk." He chuckled against my neck, sucking on my stinging skin.

"Poor pet." he teased, I narrowed my eyes. I managed to push him away and hopped up from the bed.

"I guess I'll just stay in my room tonight." I lied, he looked appalled.

"No Kaori-chan, don't. I promise ta behave." he exclaimed. I giggled in amusement and plopped back down beside him.

"Fine, but you better." I said.

He nodded in agreement, pulling the covers over the both of us. I smiled slightly, loving how much of a sweetheart he could be at times, and snuggled close to him. He placed his arms around me, holding me against him, and pressed his lips against my forehead. I smiled to myself, closing my eyes.

"Oyasumi Kaori-chan." I giggled, loving how cute his voice had just sounded.

"Oyasumi womanizer." I felt him poke my stomach, and I flinched at his touch. I hated being so ticklish. "Fine, gomen. I love you."

"I love you too dear." he whispered. I smiled in serenity, feeling him kiss the top of my head, and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Shinji was absolutely amazing…but he'd always be a womanizer no matter what.

* * *

_**The pendulum swings back. **_

_**The story barreling towards the future will stop for an instant, so that we may peer into the past. **_

_**Though it was only the briefest of moments, its effects were wide-spread and long-lasting. **_

* * *

I sighed to myself, leaning my cheek against my hand. I couldn't believe he'd kissed my cheek like that.

"_Taichou."_

How could someone be as amazing as him?

"_Taichou."_

He was such a womanizer, but he was so genuine at the same time.

"_Taichou."_

He was so perfect to me.

"_Taichou?"_

With his long golden hair, gorgeous grey eyes, and amazing sincere smile…he was the perfect man; no wonder I'd fallen head over heels for him.

"_Taichou!"_

"Huh?" I snapped out of my daze seeing a hand wave infront of my face and looked over at Youta. "Nani? Did I miss something?" Youta gave me a blank stare and slowly nodded, had I not been paying attention to him or something?

"Are you…alright, Otoribashi-Taichou?" he asked slowly; I nodded. Why wouldn't I be alright?

"Hai…is something wrong?" I asked confused. He continued giving me that same blank stare and tilted his head to the side.

"You were drooling." he told me. I gasped, wiping at my mouth.

Yuck, this was perfect. I'd actually started _drooling _over _SHINJI! _Today was starting out to be rather shitty. First, I wake up from having a dream about him…a rather sexy dream, NO! Omit that, omit that. I did _not _just admit to having a sex dream about Shinji, there was no way. I liked him, but not _that _much. After waking up though, I'd tripped and stumbled through my room all morning. I'd been later than usual getting to my office, and now I was fucking daydreaming about Shinji. Perfect, absolutely positively, perfect. This was not a good day, what was I going to do at the meeting when I had to stand beside him? Great. I glanced over at Youta through my hair, my cheeks felt slightly warm...was I blushing or something?

"That never happened." I stated. He nodded, chuckling a little.

"Hai Taichou." he said, sounding amused. I glared at him through my hair, wishing that he hadn't caught me fucking _drooling _of all things_, _and let a sigh pass through my parted lips.

"Anything new?" I asked, he handed me a few folders. I groaned, scratching the back of my neck in annoyance. "Nande? I hate being a taichou sometimes, it's shit." Youta laughed in amusement, shaking his head.

"People would _kill _for your job, and you don't want it Taichou?" he teased, I rolled my eyes at that.

"Hai, it's troublesome." I mumbled, opening the first folder.

I heard him chuckle, before he head over to the file cabinet. While he did some _exciting_ filing, I went through the paperwork, assigning missions to my division members. I felt my lips stretch into a grin, so a member of division four needed to be accompanied to the world of the living eh? For a month even? This was perfect, Satomi would be out of my hair for a good month. Even better, she'd be away from _Shinji _for a good month. How great was this day turning out to be? I chuckled darkly, signing her over to the mission, and looked up at Youta.

"Youta dear?" I called, sounding extremely sweet.

He looked up from filing and smirked, seeing the evil look in my eyes; he must've known that I had something sneaky planned. We'd just gotten so much closer once we'd started having to plan all this evil shit together, and it was awesome as fuck. My fukutaichou really had learned how to have some fun and let loose. I just hoped I wasn't being _too_ much of a bad influence on him, it'd be awful if he lost his kind and sweet personality.

"Hai Otoribashi-Taichou?" he asked, sounding mischievous. I giggled, this was going to be good.

"Please go find our sixteenth seat for me, I have a _special _mission to assign to her." I said, my lips stretching into a smirk. Youta nodded, bowing in respect.

"Hai Taichou, I'll be back momentarily." he said respectfully.

He exited the office without another word, and I leaned back in my chair in bliss. I couldn't believe my luck, Yamamoto-Soutaichou was my unofficial hero right now. He'd given me a great folder today, I'd have Satomi gone within the hour, and she'd _stay _gone for a good month. This was all too perfect.

'I guess today really is starting to become a good day. I have a ton of leisure time, I'm doing a bunch of thinking about what I need to do about Shinji, I'm daydreaming about all sorts of things I really _shouldn't _be daydreaming about *cough* sex with Shinji *cough*, and this nice little file comes to my desk. How fantastic is this day turning out to be?' I looked up hearing footsteps and smiled. In walked Youta, closely followed by Satomi, this was going to be _real _good. They both bowed, and Youta went back to filing paperwork.

"You wished to see me, Otoribashi-Taichou?" Satomi asked, raising her head.

I nodded to her, holding the folder out a little. She took a few steps forward towards my desk, grabbing the folder from me, and flipped it open. Her eyes scanned the document, and I smirked seeing her eyes widen in shock.

"The world of the living?" she asked confused, I nodded again.

"Unohana-Taichou needs to send someone from her division there." I said, sounding oh so sweet. "They need protection, that's where you come in."

"Demo…it's a month long mission." she whined, I continued smiling.

"At least you'll have a ton of leisure time." I said, still sounding sweet. Her eyes narrowed into a glare, and she said coldly

"Do whatever you want, but it won't change anything between me and Shinji. He likes me, and he won't stop just because you send me away for a little while. If anything, it'll make him realize how much he _does_ like me." I raised an eyebrow in amusement, she was so naïve.

"Of course that _may _happen." I drawled, ruffling my hair. "Demo, that doesn't mean that it will. Shinji might find someone else that he's interested in, or he might realize that you're just not worth his time. In reality, you really _aren't, _I honestly don't understand why he's wasting his time on your ugly face." Her eyes widened in shock that I'd said that to her and I waved my hand, smirking in amusement at her reaction. "Now go on, be at the gate within an hour. See you in a month Kazuma."

She glared, grinding her teeth, and exited the office. I smirked in amusement and turned my gaze to Youta. He moved his eyes away from the files and smirked at me. I giggled and he walked over, high-fiving me.

"Skank ass bitch is gone." he rejoiced, I nodded in agreement.

"Oh yeah. She's gone, and she won't be back for a good month." I said, cracking my knuckles. "Who else can I torture while she's gone?" Youta rolled his eyes, saying

"Her friends of course." I nodded again, now _that_ was an idea.

"Good plan, let's party it up. Sake time!" I shouted, he chuckled at my happy attitude.

"Alright Taichou, just this once." he said, giving into my request. I hopped up from my seat, jumped over my desk, and walked across my office with him.

Time for some drinking. I mean, time for a celebration…that _involved_ drinking.

* * *

**Author's Note: Haha! Evil little bitch Satomi is gone. Woohoo! Go Kaori for being such a smarty, I'm sorta jealous that I'd never think of something like that. Then again though, real world and anime world is mega different so.......yeah. I don't think I could send someone off to somewheer on a mission since I'm not a captain or anything. Maybe if I go in the army and become a general I could...fuck that. I'll just stick with writing and ordering people around through that. =] FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER!!!!

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_CHAPTER TWELVE PREVIEW_

'I was planning on seeing if I like him. I know that I do now though…and…I want him for myself.' I admitted, rubbing my arm embarrassed. I saw him nod inside my head, he seemed like he was happy with me finally figuring out my feelings.

_"At last, you've admitted it." _he rejoiced, I rolled my eyes.

'Be serious Motarasu Kumo.' I asked of him. 'I need help here.'

_"Gomen nasai. I'm just so proud of you." _he said honestly, chuckling a little. _"It took you forever to admit it to yourself."_

'So you knew I had feelings for him?' I asked, slightly shocked. He nodded again, looking amused.

_"Hai, I just couldn't tell you Kaori dear. You needed to figure it out on your own." he said, still chuckling a bit. I pouted to myself, crossing my arms infront of my chest.__ "Gomen dear, demo…anyway. I can tell you what to do here, will that make up for my silence in the last situation?"_

'Hai.' I replied, he nodded.

_"Alright, you have to figure out if he wants you the way you want him. I can tell that Shinji's not the type of man to take advantage of someone he cares about, so you have to kiss him."_

"Kiss him?" I whispered in shock, he nodded.

Oh shit!!!!


	15. Chapter Twelve: My Own Drug

I sighed, watching Yamamoto click his cane against the floor, dismissing us from the meeting. I head out of the room beside Kyoraku, Youta followed behind me, talking with Lisa about something or another. I shoved my former taichou a bit when he made a face at me, succeeding in knocking him off balance…if only for half a second.

"Nani Kaori-chan?" he complained, I giggled and shrugged in response as we walked down the hallway together. He knew what it was over, so I wasn't planning on telling him anything.

"Nothing." I replied, sounding incredibly sweet.

I had something very interesting planned. What I was planning, would _really_ make Kyoraku annoyed with me, at least for a good couple of days anyway. He raised an eyebrow at me, wondering what was going on in my mischievous little head. He shook his head, sighing to himself, and lowered his hat a bit. I gave him a skeptical look, wondering what was on his mind.

"You're up to something Kaori-chan." he stated, my smile never faltered.

Oh, if only he knew. I was making sure to improve my lying skills, I couldn't let Shinji catch me in the act of lying to him. I had to make _sure _I'd be able to lie better around him and keep my feelings a secret until I could get rid of them. I didn't want him finding out about them, especially since I knew he'd be a jerk and try to mess with them. That's how all men were, they had no respect for women. We walked passed the sign in roster thingy, heading for the exit.

"Do you see me as a sneaky type of person Shunsui?" I asked curiously, tilting my head to the side to look at him from a different angle.

"You have a certain look to you." he teased, raising his hat a little.

I wrinkled my nose playfully, I had a certain look to me huh? I'd have to make sure to hide that look later when I talked to Shinji, I'd just learnt something new about myself. All because of Kyoraku, thanks a ton for the information.

"Of course _you _would know that." I said with a sarcastic tone, he chuckled in agreement.

Life would be rather boring not talking to him, he was one of the greatest friends I had here in Seireitei. I guess having been in his division for a long time and being his fukutaichou had been a major plus for our friendship bond…thing.

"Being my fukutaichou for three years, I know you rather well Kaori-chan." he said with an amused tone, I rolled my eyes.

"Uh huh." I said simply, folding my arms across my chest. His lips turned up into a smile, and he turned in the direction of his division once we'd gotten outside the huge ass doors. "Fine, I guess you don't wanna know then." He looked at me over his shoulder while Lisa walked to his side.

"Hurry it up Kaori-chan, tons of stuff to do." he lied, knowing Lisa would more than likely strangle him if he didn't at least _pretend _to be interested in doing his paperwork. I smirked to myself in amusement and hopped to his side, tightly hugging him around the waist.

"Happy Birthday Kyoraku-Taichou." I sang, he groaned loudly.

"No Kaori-chan, nande?" he complained. I pulled my face out of his haori and glanced over to see Lisa's jaw dropped. Apparently he hadn't told her, even more perfect.

"You didn't tell me it was your birthday." she exclaimed angrily; he shrugged, grimacing at her tone of voice.

"Kaori-chan is merely confused, got her days mixed up." he lied, very badly I might add. I pouted, trying to act like he'd hurt my feelings.

"Don't be so modest Shunsui." I teased, shoving him playfully. "I even got you a present." I shoved a small package in his hands and smiled sweetly. "I hope you like it, but I need to be going now. Tons of paperwork." I smiled again, turning on my heel, and head in the direction of my division before he managed to say anything.

"Damn it! You didn't mention _anything _about a birthday!" Lisa raged behind me. I giggled evilly, my eyes locked on Youta walking behind me.

"You just love to torture him, don't you?" he asked, sounding slightly amused.

I nodded in agreement, I _had_ to tease my old taichou as much as he teased me. It was only fair after all, plus…it was a _ton_ of fun, and it was my job. What made it even better was that Lisa would get pissed off when I mentioned something she didn't know, I loved getting Kyoraku in trouble with his fukutaichou. It was the greatest. I looked up at Youta, putting my hands behind my head as we walked towards the division. He looked down at me, wondering what was occupying my thoughts at the moment.

"How much paperwork do we _actually_ have left for the day?" I asked, tilting my head. He chewed on his lower lip in thought, tilting his head to the side as well. Finally, after a long thirty seconds, he said

"I really don't think there is any." I nodded, smiling to myself.

"Well, if there's no paperwork that means there's no reason to go back to the office." I said joyfully, stretching my arms above my head.

"Demo Taichou…" He stopped seeing my eyes narrow, and I sighed.

"Gomen Youta, I just don't feel like going back to the office for now. It's too cramped for my taste, I need some freedom." I told him, apologizing for my glaring. I didn't want to get him upset with me, I hated when I managed to accidentally hurt his feelings at times. It made me feel like a total bitch. He nodded, lowering his head.

"I know Otoribashi-Taichou, I didn't mean to sound like I was giving orders." he apologized; I nodded, showing him he was forgiven.

"It's alright, how about you go check up on the division?" I suggested, hoping to let him know how much I appreciated his hard work and dedication. "I think I'm gonna go see Shinji or someone before the day's over." He nodded, bowing in respect.

"Hai Otoribashi-Taichou." he said, bowing slightly. I nodded, giggling when he gave me a one-armed hug.

"See ya in the morning Youta." I said, feeling like nothing could ruin my good mood. He nodded, shunpoing off towards the division.

I smiled slightly, turning in the direction of Shinji's division. A sigh escaped my lips as I slowly began my journey across Seireitei. Things with Shinji and myself had gotten so much better since Satomi had been away in the world of the living. We'd gotten back into the habit of visiting each other everyday, going out drinking at least once every few days, watching the sunset every evening like when we were kids, and nothing had really changed all that much between us. Well…almost nothing. My emotions and hormones were in a major wreck over him, confusing themselves shitless. _I _was confusing myself shitless. We were doing the most normal stuff, and yet…I was still falling for him. And by falling, I don't mean like falling out of my window. Falling as in, falling out of the fucking sky.

I was falling head over heels…I wouldn't say I was in love with him though. That wasn't the case, I merely had some attraction towards him, a few feelings…nothing _too _bad about that. There was _no way _I would let myself fall in love with Hirako Shinji, it was just something that couldn't happen. We'd known each other since we were kids, running the streets and having fun all the time. I'd always looked up to him, he was like my role model, and I had such respect for him as a taichou. As a person…eh, not as much. He was a really amazing man on the inside, the outer him needed a ton of work. He didn't know how to be civil, as in, he didn't know how to have a conversation with a woman without flirting with her. In a way though, I loved his outer personality. He was a flirt, bold enough to be himself and not give a shit, obnoxious at times, arrogant, cocky, and like most men…a perv. Oh well though, a girl would never be able to find a guy that wasn't perverted at all. There was just no way, and it was slightly attractive in its own way.

I was guessing this attraction I had towards Shinji was because of my not dating in almost sixteen years, my hormones missed having a man around, and they attached themselves to the closest man to me…Shinji. I didn't understand why they just _had _to choose him out of all of the men in Seireitei, but they had. Now, I was dealing with all sorts of shit from them being attracted to him. Sure, I enjoyed checking guys out as much as the next chick, but every fucking day? It wasn't like he was changing anytime soon, so why did my eyes have to continuously travel over him? He'd been exactly the same for years, I didn't need to keep checking him out like this…but I still did. Then there were my dreams, I was getting sick of having all those fucking dreams about him. Waking up covered in sweat was disgusting, I wasn't enjoying getting turned on in my sleep. It wasn't good at all. And I was getting tired of having to change my sheets everyday, this was getting ridiculous.

I needed to just get Shinji out of my system somehow, but I didn't know what to do. It wasn't like he was single anymore, he was dating Satomi, and I couldn't just walk in his office and kiss him. That would be quite the scandal. Kissing a guy that already had a girlfriend, a girlfriend that was from _my _division, and not to mention I _knew _they were together. I couldn't get away with doing that, people would be calling me whore if they found out. I didn't know how I could get him out of my system without kissing him though, there had to be something I could do. But _what_ I could I do? _What_? I sighed to myself, focusing on talking with my Zanpakuto spirit.

"_Is something wrong Kaori?"_ he asked, I forced myself not to nod. People would think I was crazy or something if they saw me do that at 'random.'

'Hai, I need your advice." I told him mentally.

"_Well shoot, what's going on?" _he inquired, I let another sigh pass through my parted lips.

'I finally got rid of that boge baka Kazuma, now I don't know what to do though.' I thought, I saw him nod inside my head.

"_Mhm, do you mean you don't know what to do about Shinji?" _he pondered.

'Hai Motarasu Kumo, I don't know what I should do about him. I realized that…I _do _like him; alot. Demo, he's with Kazuma. I don't know how I can…I mean…I don't know _what _I'm supposed to do.' I thought, lowering my head.

"_So he's still with Kazuma hm? Well it sounds like you're in quite the predicament." _he said, not sounding very pleased about my troubles.

'Yeah, and I don't know how to get out of them.' I raged mentally. He hmm'd for a second and finally said

"_What were you planning on doing before you walked in on him and Kazuma that first time?" _I bit down on my lower lip in thought, ruffling my hair a bit.

'I was planning on kissing him, seeing if I like him. I know that I do now though…and…I want him for myself.' I admitted, rubbing my arm embarrassed. I saw him nod inside my head, he seemed like he was happy with me finally figuring out my feelings.

"_At last, you've admitted it." _he rejoiced, I rolled my eyes.

'Be serious Motarasu Kumo.' I asked of him. 'I need help here.'

"_Gomen nasai. I'm just so proud of you." _he said honestly, chuckling a little. _"It took you forever to admit it to yourself."_

'So you knew I had feelings for him?' I asked, slightly shocked. He nodded again, looking amused.

"_Hai, I just couldn't tell you Kaori dear. You needed to figure it out on your own." _he said, still chuckling a bit. I pouted to myself, crossing my arms infront of my chest. This wasn't fair. _"Gomen dear, demo…anyway. I can tell you what to do here, will that make up for my silence in the last situation?"_

'Hai.' I replied, he nodded.

"_Alright, you have to figure out if he wants you the way you want him. I can tell that Shinji's not the type of man to take advantage of someone he cares about, so you have to kiss him." _My jaw dropped, and I stopped a little way from Shinji's office.

"Kiss him?" I whispered in shock, he nodded.

"_Hai, it's the only way. If he has feelings for you, he won't push you away. If he doesn't, he will push you away. He would never take advantage of you Kaori, that's not the type of man he is." _Motarasu Kumo explained, I nodded in defeat. I guessed this was the only way to figure out if Shinji felt the same way about me that I felt about him.

'Arigato Motarasu Kumo.' I said mentally.

"_Your welcome Kaori, you must do it now. You won't have the courage or the boldness any time after today. Don't think about Kazuma, don't think about anything. Just focus on going in there and kissing him." _he ordered, I nodded again. _"Have a casual conversation, then kiss him. Understand?"_

'Hai.'

"_Now go on dear, thing's will go smoothly I hope. Good luck."_

I took a deep breath, fixed my hair (by messing it up), and walked the rest of the way down the hallway of the fifth division's barracks. I stopped infront of Shinji's office and slid the door open without knocking, like I normally would.

"Go on Sousuke, deliver those missions to the division." Shinji ordered, sounding rather bored with his job. Aizen nodded at the order, bowing in respect seconds later.

"Hai Hirako-Taichou." Aizen said, sounding extremely respectful. Shinji nodded, not really looking like he cared what Aizen was saying, and his gaze flicked up from his desk to find me standing in his doorway.

"Kaori, what a pleasant surprise." he exclaimed, sounding sarcastic. I rolled my eyes at his tone of voice, trying not to seem obvious about what I was planning, and walked into the room.

"Konnichiwa Shinji, Sousuke." I greeted with a sweet tone. I was all too good of an actress…most of the time that is.

"Konnichiwa Otoribashi-Taichou." Aizen said, bowing his head in my direction. I smiled at him, and Shinji groaned loudly; he seemed rather annoyed with Aizen still being here.

"Get the hell out Sousuke." he barked, narrowing his eyes. "Hand out those missions already." Aizen quickly turned to Shinji and nodded.

"Hai Taichou." he said, sounding like a robot.

He bowed in respect to his taichou again and walked out of the office, shutting the door behind him. I looked at Shinji, raising an eyebrow. Damn he was so mean to his fukutaichou, how did he never feel bad about it? I sure would if I was _that _mean to Youta, I loved my fukutaichou like he was family. Apparently Shinji didn't share my views on relationships between taichou and fukutaichou.

"That was rather snippety Shinji." I teased, walking across the room to his desk. "Scared the poor guy ta death." He rolled his eyes, watching me walk around the desk and sit ontop of it, infront of him.

"Eh, he's not worth anything." Shinji said nonchalantly, leaning back in his chair. I giggled a little, swinging my legs in the air, and shrugged.

"I would think you'd be a smidge nicer to him, he's been your fukutaichou for years after all." I said, tilting my head upward a little. Shinji rolled his eyes, not looking like he enjoyed talking about Aizen.

"He's a sneak Kaori, how can ya trust someone if they're a sneak?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. I shrugged, I guess you couldn't. I flipped my bangs out of my eyes, and tapped my fingers against Shinji's desk. I wished the conversation would speed itself up somehow. "How'd Kyoraku like his present?" Shinji asked curiously. I giggled again, grimacing.

"Hehe, he didn't even get ta open it infront of me. He didn't tell Lisa about his birthday, pissed her off so much. I woulda been eaten if I didn't get outa there." I informed him, he chuckled.

"He'll thank ya fer it later." he told me, I nodded in agreement. I scratched my neck boredly, trying to distract myself from how nervous I was, and looked up at the ceiling. "Rose still pissed with me?"

I looked away from the ceiling, meeting Shinji's eyes. I felt like I was floating again, like time had just stopped again, like nothing really mattered anymore. Every time I stared into his eyes, I could tell that I was beginning to care less and less about what everyone thought. I was starting to think I wouldn't care if people called me a whore for being with him, I cared about Shinji…alot. I hadn't wanted to admit it for the longest time, but now I was willing to. I liked Shinji, I liked him far _too_ much. I liked him more than I should've. I didn't know what I was supposed to do, was now the right time to kiss him? I broke the intense stare and chewed on my lower lip in thought; I guessed not.

"I think a little bit, but not too much." I guessed, shrugging my shoulders. "Not as bad as he was before." Shinji nodded a bit, putting his hands behind his head. "Things'll be ok, trust me."

"I do Kaori, I just…urg." he groaned, I laughed quietly. "What's so funny, huh?" I laughed again, shaking my head. I didn't want him to think I was laughing _at _him…even though I kind of was.

"Nothing." I mumbled, still chuckling a bit.

He rolled his eyes, removing his hands from behind his head, and placed them on either side of my thighs. I felt my breath catch in my throat, my chuckling ceased as I saw the serious expression on his face. I swallowed hard, watching him lean in closer to my face. This was it, this was the right moment to do what I had been planning. I just needed a few more seconds, a few _measly _seconds. He needed to say something, something womanizerish. I needed to be able to pull out a cocky comeback to his womanizer antics and kiss him afterwards. He _needed _to say something already. He stopped a few inches from my face, I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. I bet I was blushing bright red by now, but I couldn't do anything yet; I had to wait for him to say something.

He chuckled at how much I was blushing, trailing his finger down my cheek. I watched him, still not saying anything. I was _far _too embarrassed to get anything out of my mouth right now. I swallowed again, lightly biting down on the inside of my jaw. Why couldn't he just get this over with? I wanted to go ahead and get my rejection over with. Shinji chuckled again, leaning his face closer to mine.

"Ya know Kaori-chan…" he started, sounding amused; this was it. "I never thought I could make ya blush this much."

I continued staring into his eyes and felt my lips curve into a smile. I didn't have any smart ass remark for what he'd just said, but I didn't need one. What I was going to do now, would be enough of a smart ass remark. I licked my lips, leaning closer to his face, and his eyes widened in slight shock.

"Aww." I cooed, smirking a bit. "You look, dare I say it, intimidated. Hirako-Taichou." His eyes narrowed into a glare, he didn't looked too amused by me saying that.

"Kaori-"

He never would get to finish that sentence, I wasn't able to contain it any longer. I couldn't hold it in, I couldn't stop myself. I grabbed onto the front of his haori and pulled him closer to me, pressing my lips against his.

It was like a jolt of electricity shot through my body at the contact, like gravity had pulled the both of us together. My heart had stopped in my chest, my mind went blank, and it didn't even feel like I needed to breathe anymore. I felt like, a smoker that had finally gotten a cigarette after going through months of painful nicotine withdraw. An alcoholic that had just gotten their liquor for the first time after years of rehab. A crack addict that had finally gotten their crack, a heroin addict that had finally gotten their heroin, he was like a drug. My own personal drug, a drug that was made just for me, and drug that I wasn't willing to share with anyone.

I didn't understand this feeling, and in reality…I didn't _need _to understand it. All I knew, was that after years upon years of being alone, I'd finally found what I was looking for. I'd finally found the one person who made me complete, who made me feel whole. I'd found the missing piece in my life, my other half, my significant other…Shinji. He'd always been here, but I hadn't looked at him this way until now. I hadn't known that I felt this way about him, and seeing him with Satomi had torn me up inside. Now I knew why. It was because…I had very strong feelings towards him. Feelings, that weren't like what Rose and I shared. It was not a brother sister relationship in the least, it was something more. Something…that people called love.

What happened next, was something I hadn't expected to happen. Sure, I knew I was going to kiss Shinji, but I didn't know what would happen after that. My main thought of it was that he'd pull away from me and say that he didn't have those types of feelings towards me. Well…that didn't happen. Instead…

He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me off the desk, into his lap. His other hand moved behind my head, his fingers knotting in my short hair, as he tilted his head to the side at a different angle. He was kissing me so roughly, my lips felt so swollen and like they were bruising. And did I care, hell no. My hands went up, around his neck, as our kissing seemed to get rougher. I whimpered feeling his tongue lick at my bottom lip and willingly opened my mouth, groaning when he ran his tongue along the roof of my mouth. He was dominating my mouth, controlling me in a way that no other man had, and I liked it. I was tired of always being in control, it was nice to have someone controlling _me _for once.

I whimpered again when he pulled out of the kiss, why'd he have to ruin something so special like that? Why? I opened my eyes, looking up through my lashes into his. My breathing felt so ragged, like oxygen couldn't get to my lungs fast enough. I licked my lips, savoring his taste. He tasted so good, I couldn't even place it. I continued staring at him through my lashes, panting, and pulled him back against my lips. Then we were kissing again, just as roughly as before. The aggression, raw passion, his dominance over me, it all felt so right. I lightly nibbled on his lip before slipping my tongue in his mouth, rubbing it against his. I heard a moan escape his throat, almost smirking to myself. So he really liked this huh? I almost pouted when he pulled back from my lips, my eyes immediately slipped shut and a quiet moan escaped my lips, feeling him bite down on my neck. This feeling was amazing, I never wanted it to stop.

I tangled my fingers in his blonde hair, absentmindedly pressing my chest against his. He groaned, liking the amount of contact, and ran his tongue up my neck. I gasped, lightly tugging on his hair.

"Shinji…please." I moaned.

He chuckled, hearing me moan his name, and began lightly kissing my neck. I licked my lips, leaning my head back in pleasure. I'd never experienced something like this in my entire life. I'd never felt something this powerful, something so meaningful, something like this at all. I'd never been in so much pleasure in my whole life…and it was _Shinji _that was making me feel this way. I almost gasped hearing a light knock at the door, we were fucked. I jumped off Shinji, plopping down on the window sill a little ways from his desk, and stared out the window rubbing my neck where he'd bit me.

"Yeah?" Shinji hollered, he didn't sound too pleased about this interruption.

I didn't looked at the door when it slid open, I continued staring out the window. I was trying so hard to steady my breathing, but it wasn't really working out well in my favor. I'd never experienced something as powerful as that before. Never in all the years of my life, I couldn't believe Shinji could barely touch me and make me feel that way.

"Taichou, these are the progress reports for our new recruits." a voice said, it didn't sound like Aizen. "Gomen nasai, I didn't meant to interrupt your discussion with Otoribashi-Taichou."

"Arigato, out." Shinji ordered.

I heard the footsteps across the floor, after a few antagonizing seconds the door slid shut. Next thing I knew, a pair of hands were running down my sides. I leaned my head back, sighing quietly.

"Kaori?" I looked over my shoulder at Shinji, wondering if he was going to be a complete asshole about what happened. He wasn't smirking, that was quite the surprise. "Kaori…"

It didn't look like he could get out the words he wanted to say. I turned towards him, taking his arms in my hands, and stared up into his eyes. I lightly pressed my lips against his and leaned close to his ear, whispering

"My room, midnight."

I pressed my lips against his neck once before bouncing to my feet and walking across the room. I exited his office without another word and head down the hallway, my destination…my bedroom. I _had _to be ready for tonight.

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_**The pendulum swings forward. **_

_**The story rewinding backwards to the past will pause for an instant, so that we may take a look back into the future. **_

_**The decisions made during the present, will greatly affect future events.**_

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I looked at Shinji standing a little way from me and he nodded, a serious expression on his face. I let out a sigh, nodding in agreement. I knew I had to hurry up with what we were planning on doing, I just really wished I didn't have to do it. The whole gang wasn't home at the moment, so I knew I had to finish this before they got back if I didn't want them finding out about Gyaku getting stronger. This was the only way for me to show him who was boss, and this was the only chance I would get. Shinji had promised me he wouldn't tell anyone, and it would just be the two of us working on this today. That was _only _until the family got back though. If they walked in before I'd defeated Gyaku, then they'd find out I was having problems with him. I didn't want them knowing so I needed to stop hesitating and get this adventure started.

I took a deep breath and plopped on the ground. I closed my eyes, relaxing my body, and focused on entering my inner world. I waited a moment before I felt a slight tug, my eyes flicked open. I was standing in a pitch black area, under me, was what looked like a bunch of white shiny strings. I knew better than that though, I was standing on a bunch of spider webs. This was my inner world, I _was_ the Arachnid Princess and the Princess of Poison. I took a deep breath, focusing. I had to beat Gyaku in here, I had to show him who was in charge of my life. That it was me and not him. This was the only place to defeat him, and I knew Shinji would be having a difficult time restraining my body in the world of the living. While I was in here, I knew that my body was transforming into a Hollow. We'd all done this more than once…except me. This was my second time having to defeat my Hollow. Everyone else had done this at least three times, the Hollows were just able to get stronger somehow. Now, I knew I had to find him, and defeat him.

I brought my foot up, delicately placing it on one of the strings, and hopped over to another web. I looked around, wondering why the hell Gyaku wouldn't just come out from hiding. I'd already wasted a good two minutes. I sighed, unsheathing my Zanpakuto, and wrinkled my brow.

"GYAKU!" I screamed.

"Gyaku."

"Gyaku."

"Gyaku."

My voice echoed around me in all directions, this was such a barren place, no life at all. It was _my_ innerworld, it'd seemed to get much less appealing once Gyaku had stepped into it though. I felt my eyes narrow, hearing some slight movement behind me. I took a breath and jumped, dodging the kick. I did a back flip in the air, balancing on one of the strings like an acrobat. I glared at Gyaku standing there, he smirked.

"_Konnichiwa, my dear princess." _he cooed, his sly voice ringing in the air. I licked my lips, still glaring at him.

"You didn't answer my call earlier." I stated, a frown sitting on my lips. Gyaku smirked, looking pleased that he'd pissed me off.

"_My apologies princess. There was something I needed to see to first." _he teased, I locked my jaw angrily.

"Uh huh, of course." I said plainly, getting into a fighting stance. "Let's just finish this for now Gyaku. I'm hungry, and I'd really like to get some lunch if you wouldn't mind." He narrowed his eyes, pulling his Zanpakuto off his side.

"_Hai princess. As you wish." _he taunted, raising the katana above his head.

I felt a smirk tug at my lips and dodged the attack. I did another flip in the air, landing on other string, this time…my hand was holding me up while the rest of my body was in the air. How strong was I? He turned his head in my direction, all eight eyes glaring at me. I flipped my sword, holding the blade more inward, and said

"Poizun Issai Ejiki, Motarasu Kumo (Poison all Prey, Deadly Spider) ."

My blade glowed a combination of pink and purple, before the blade itself turned black with pink and purple lightning bolt designs running up the blade. At the top of the guard was a black spider web, glittering, and the hilt had purple and pink cobweb strings falling down from it. The blade had shrunk a little in size, but not by too much. It was still awesome looking, my Zanpakuto had always been awesome looking. I smirked confidently, shunpoing across the black, and swung my blade at Gyaku. He sonidoed away from me and I glared angrily; I'd almost had him.

I smirked seeing the cut running up his arm and chuckled to myself, so it looked like I _had _made contact with my blade. I watched the spider like venom/poison slowly eating at his white skin and he snapped his head up at me, his eyes narrowed.

"_You shouldn't have done that princess." _he hissed angrily. _"Now you will pay."_ I smirked at that, he'd said that same thing the first time.

"Bring it on then Gyaku." I teased, getting into a more elegant fighting stance; his eyes narrowed even more. He opened his mouth, saying with a maniacal laugh

"_Poizun Issai Ejiki, Motarasu Kumo."_

I knew I wouldn't lose this battle with him, I couldn't _afford _to.

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**Author's Note: So I deeply apologize for taking forever to update this story. I feel so bad about making you wait forever. But it's still an amazing effing chapter. Am I right or am I right? Lmao, next chapter will be a lil more explicit than I've ever done and my first time going in full out details about sex stuff so....yeah. Don't criticize me too much if I suck. I promise I'll be able to explain it better, once I have sex. I mean, come on. If you haven't done it, it's really hard to describe what it feels like...ya know? Anywho, enough of my rambling. Here's the preview and you know my policy...FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER!!!!**

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN PREVIEW

_My head snapped in the direction of the door hearing a knock, before my eyes flicked to the clock; exactly midnight. I licked my lips, gracefully walking across my room to the door, and took a hold of the door handle. I wiped the smile off my face and slid the door open. There he stood, at exactly midnight, just like I'd told him. I felt my breath catch in my throat, and the blood rush to my cheeks. Now I realized how nervous I really was about tonight. I swallowed, still staring up at him. He had the most serious expression on his face, his grey eyes were penetrating mine, another intense stare._

_"Ooi Kaori." Shinji said, still looking serious. I nodded, lightly biting on the inside of my jaw._

_"Shinji." I managed to get out of my throat, damn I really was a nervous wreck. "You came."_

_"You told me to, so I did." he said simply._


	16. Chapter Thirteen: The Night It All Began

I groaned in pain and drug my face out of the ground, looking around the training area. My eyes finally fell on Shinji standing a little ways from me. He shunpoed to my side, kneeling next to me.

"How ya feelin?" he asked, rubbing my back. I smiled tiredly, turning over on my back.

"Never felt better. Arigato…you made me twist my ankle." I complained, he rolled his eyes at my whining.

"Yer Hollow's fault, not mine." he corrected, I wrinkled my nose.

"No, you're the one that was fighting my body. It's your fault, you could've been more careful with me." I argued. He sighed, shaking his head muttering something under his breath. Oh he'd better speak up, I _despised _when he did that whining under his breath. It pissed me off. "What was that?"

"I said yer a complaining bitch." he said, narrowing his eyes at me.

I glared back at him, wanting him to stop being such an asshole towards me. I'd just got through a rough battle in my inner world, I didn't want to put up with Shinji's shit right now. Couldn't he be a little more compassionate and help me feel better? I was the girl he loved after all. He sighed and finally put one arm under my knees, the other behind my shoulders. He lifted me into his arms and carried me up the staircase, back into the warehouse.

"Arigato Shinji." I whispered, touching my hand to his cheek.

I didn't want to fight with him right now, I just wanted to let him know how much I appreciated him. He was an amazing man, and I had no clue where I'd be without him. I loved him so very much, and I didn't like fighting with him. So I was willing to apologize first, just to keep us from fighting. He nodded, staring down into my eyes.

"Gomen Kaori love, I know I shouldn't be acting like an ass towards ya." he apologized.

I nodded, accepting his apology, and he gently set me down on the couch. I laid back on the couch tiredly, smiling when Shinji placed a pillow behind my head. He was such a caring boyfriend when he wanted to be…if you wanted to label him boyfriend that is. Like I'd said before, we'd never labeled ourselves. Maybe we needed to get around to it though, I didn't know what I would say to the boys at Kurosaki's school if any of them hit on me. I'd need to be able to say something like, "sorry I have a boyfriend" but until we labeled ourselves officially…we were just Kaori and Shinji.

"Stay here love, I'll getta icepack fer yer ankle." he said, running his hand over the top of my head.

"Will you make me something yummy?" I asked sweetly, pulling out the puppy dog pout. Shinji stared into my wide innocent eyes and finally nodded. I mentally cheered at my victory, rubbing the top of my head against his palm.

"Whacha want?" he inquired. I shrugged, not really knowing what I wanted to eat.

"Surprise me sweetie." I said, giggling a little.

He smirked, shaking his head at me in amusement, and head into the kitchen. I giggled again, grabbing the remote, and turned on the television. The news immediately popped up, some anchor woman talking about some of the events going on in Karakura Town. I stared at the screen, watching as all sorts of reports on robberies and other insignificant things filled the news. The Shinigami were doing a good job at hiding all Hollow attacks and such, I'd give them that. After a few boring minutes of watching the news, Shinji finally plopped down beside me, feeding me vanilla flavored ice-cream. I giggled, munching on the ice-cream.

"Cold!" I exclaimed, he laughed at me.

"Stop eatin' it so fast then." he advised, rolling his eyes.

I smiled a bit, watching him place an icepack on my swollen ankle, and he shoved another spoonful of ice-cream in my mouth. I rolled my eyes a bit, waiting for the ice-cream to melt in my mouth, and finally swallowed it. I hmm'd for a second and said

"It's missing something, why isn't there chocolate syrup on it?" He sighed to himself, bowing his head, and kissed my forehead a few seconds later.

"Gomen love, I forgot ya don't like vanilla without chocolate." he said, rolling his eyes again. I giggled, smiling a bit, and kissed his cheek.

"Arigato Shin-kun." I said sweetly, watching him walk back to the kitchen. He returned a after a minute, the ice-cream _literally _drowned in the syrup. I felt my lips stretch into a big smile, and I grabbed the bowl from him. "Yay! Ice-cream." I cheered, he laughed.

"Yer so amusing Kaori-chan." he stated, I nodded in agreement.

"Hells yeah, I'm the bomb." I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

He chuckled in amusement and kissed the side of my face. I shoved a spoonful of ice-cream in his mouth and giggled at his face, sudden brain freeze I guessed. I laughed loudly, but it stopped when the door opened. The whole family walked in after a day of doing…whatever they'd went out to do, and their eyes fell on me laying on the couch.

"What happened Kaori?" Rose exclaimed, rushing to my side. He sounded so concerned, what was a good lie I could use? Kuso!

"She fell down the stairs after ya left." Shinji answered for me, taking the ice-cream bowl. He fed me a bite, grinning at how he was treating me like a child. I wrinkled my nose, trying to resist chewing the ice-cream. It was so flippen good.

"You should've called." Rose said, still sounding worried; I shook my head.

"And interrupt your day of fun, uh uh." I said, waving my finger infront of his face. "It's just my ankle, nothing too bad there."

"You're still hurt." Rose pointed out, I rolled my eyes.

"Oni-chan, I'm fine. Shinji's taking care of me, it's just twisted or sprained. It'll heal." I said, smiling when Shinji fed me more ice-cream.

"Arigato Shinji." Rose said, looking at Shinji; Shinji nodded.

"Ya know I don't care ta take care of her. She's my little love." Rose rolled his eyes, still not understanding why I'd chosen Shinji out of all the men in Soul Society, and walked out of the room. I smiled at Shinji, lightly kissing his lips.

"Arigato." I whispered. He nodded, kissing me harder.

"No problem."

* * *

_**The pendulum swings back. **_

_**The story barreling towards the future will stop for an instant, so that we may peer into the past. **_

_**Though it was only the briefest of moments, its effects were wide-spread and long-lasting.**_

* * *

I took a deep breath, staring at my reflection in the mirror. What I was wearing, lingerie. I always was the type of girl that had problems matching my lingerie with my hair, since green didn't seem to go well with anything. But I had actually managed to find a green that matched with my hair, in a rather sexy strapless bra; I felt so happy. There was a black lace over the green, toning it down just a smidge, the lace was in the design of a spider web over the cups of the bra, the back part and the sides of the bra were black lace. I _was_ the Arachnid Princess, spider webs were my calling. My panties were just black and lacy. I looked like the goddess of sex…what was her name again? I stared at my reflection again, looking at myself from all angles. I guess I looked alright, oh who was I kidding. I looked like a little girl with my hair cut so short…what to do. I thought for a moment, running my fingers through my short hair before a thought popped in my head.

'Extensions, perfect.' I grinned to myself and bolted to my dresser, opening up the top drawer. I moved aside some clothing and finally pulled out my spring green clip-in extensions. I'd seen some of these in the world of the living and actually bought some, they were quite the fun things. They made my hair fall halfway down my back, which was how I'd kept it before I'd cut it off short when I'd become a taichou. They had been quite the fragile things though. They fell out so easily, so I'd asked Urahara to make me some stronger ones. Yeah, Urahara making hair extensions. Believable huh? Well, he had…Hiyori threatened him. So now, I had some pretty strong hair extensions, they wouldn't fall out until _I _took them out. They were like, touch responsive. If anyone besides me tried to take them out, they wouldn't come out. Awesome no? Urahara was such a genius.

I parted my lips and let out a slow breath before darting back infront of my mirror and staring at my reflection. I carefully put the extensions in, making sure that they would look perfect. I pushed my hair infront of my breasts, licking my lips. It was now official, I looked like a _grownup_ sex goddess. With my white creamy skin, olive green eyes, and beautiful _long _spring green hair, I was every man's fantasy come alive. Now, I just hoped Shinji would think so. I swallowed, making sure I looked perfect, and finally grabbed my white haori. I pulled my arms through the sleeves, moving my hair out from under the haori, and wrapped myself in the white material. It was a little chilly in here, I hoped it wasn't just my nerves. I sat down on the edge of my bed, folding my arms across my chest, and rubbing my hands up and down my arms in attempt to get a little warmer, as well as calm myself down.

I took in a slow deep breath, trying to stay calm. Shinji had kissed me back in his office, hell, he'd went a little further than that with kissing my neck. He _had_ to like me the way I liked him, if he didn't show up in a few minutes that would mean he didn't. Then, I would beat myself in the face for even thinking he had those types of feelings towards me. Until then though, I had to stay positive. I looked gorgeous tonight. I hadn't looked like this for a good number of years. I wiggled around on my bed, staring at the wall in thought. I needed to stop being so nervous, Shinji would be here, he _would _show up. I ran my fingers through the top layers of my hair, messing it up a bit. I finally hopped to my feet, going back to the mirror. I looked at my hair again, making sure it would look perfect. I _needed _to make sure the extensions looked alright. Was Urahara one hundred percent _positive _they wouldn't come out unless I wanted them to? I took a breath, taking small handful of the hair, and tugged. Nothing, a smile came to my lips, excellent. Tonight would be perfect.

My head snapped in the direction of the door hearing a knock, before my eyes flicked to the clock; exactly midnight. I licked my lips, gracefully walking across my room to the door, and took a hold of the door handle. I kept the haori covering my body, I wanted to surprise him. I wiped the smile, as well as the blush, off my face and slid the door open. There he stood, at exactly midnight, just like I'd told him. I felt my breath catch in my throat, and the blood rush to my cheeks. Now that I was actually standing here infront of him, I realized how nervous I really was about tonight. I swallowed, still staring up at him. He had the most serious expression on his face, his grey eyes were penetrating mine, another intense stare.

"Ooi Kaori." Shinji said, still looking serious. I nodded, lightly biting on the inside of my jaw.

"Shinji." I managed to get out of my throat, damn I really _was _a nervous wreck. "You came."

"You told me to, so I did." he said simply, I nodded. "I need to say somethin."

I nodded, wondering if I should invite him in. I motioned with my hand towards my room, and he shook his head; I felt my heart sink. So he really didn't have those feelings towards me, and he'd just come to tell me he was sorry about what happened in his office today. This was just perfect, I'd gotten ready for nothing. He took a breath and said

"Kaori. I need ta tell ya that I _really _like ya, alot." I felt my heart stop with its sinking feeling, and my eyes widen in happiness. So he really _did_ feel that way, then why wouldn't he come inside? "I just…needed ta tell ya before I come in. I wouldn't have been able ta say anything." I nodded, understanding that he was feeling the same way I was right now.

"I understand." I whispered, I felt a smile come to my lips. "I like you alot too Shinji…I just-"

He pressed his lips against mine, stopping my words. It was just like the first time, that same jolt of electricity through my body. He didn't waste any time, slipping his tongue inside my mouth, immediately gaining the upper hand on me. I felt my eyes shut, and I grabbed onto the front of his haori to keep myself from falling. His kisses made me feel so lightheaded, like I was seriously drunk. He took a step forward into the room, keeping me close to him, I heard the door slide shut. I moaned quietly into the tongue battling kiss and released my grip on his haori, pushing it off his shoulders. He shrugged off the haori before wrapping his arms around my waist, pressing his lips back against mine, and taking another step forward. I took a step back tripping over my own feet, and dropped back onto the bed, breaking the passionate kiss. I stared up at Shinji, panting hard. I didn't think I'd ever experienced a kiss quite that breathtaking…literally.

He leaned down, wrapping his hand around the back of my head and tilted my head, kissing me again. I groaned at the roughness, mentally cheering when he tugged at my hair, it didn't come out. I made myself a mental note to thank Urahara later. I put my arms around his neck, pulling him down, closer to me. He complied, pushing me flat against the bed, hovering over me. I bit down on his lower lip, tangling my fingers in his hair. This kiss, it was so passionate, filled with so many different emotions. I didn't care what those emotions were, I just _needed _him to keep kissing me. My lips were starting to feel so swollen from how roughly we were kissing each other, but I didn't care in the least. I needed to have more contact than just kissing though.

I moved one of my arms from around his neck, lightly running my fingertips down his neck to his chest. I sucked on his tongue, all the while mentally cursing at the clothing. I moved my hand down, tugging at the sash around his waist. He broke away from my lips when I loosened the sash quickly tossing it, as well as his top, in the floor. I absentmindedly licked my lips, my eyes studying his chest. I brought my hand to his chest, tracing all his muscles with cold fingers, I hoped he wasn't too uncomfortable with how freezing my fingers were. I tore my gaze away from his chest, looking up into his eyes. I felt my cheeks going hot at the stare he was giving me, no smirk at all, he really was feeling the _exact _same way I was right now. He leaned forward, pressing his lips against my neck. I heard a soft moan escape my throat as he continued with all the light kisses, teasing kisses. Why'd he have to draw this out so much, this was driving me crazy. I sunk my nails into his shoulders, moaning louder feeling him lightly bite down on my neck.

"Shinji." I murmured, _that's_ when he chuckled.

I moaned again, leaning my bead back against the mattress. This all felt amazing, but I _needed _to get this haori off, it was just getting in the way. I flipped Shinji onto his back straddling his waist and leaned forward, kissing below his jaw line. His hand went up in my hair again, I could just _feel _that he was holding in a moan, he was enjoying himself for sure. I bit down on his neck, slightly harder than I first thought I would, and he groaned loudly. Now I knew I was doing something right.

"God Kaori." he gasped.

I smirked to myself, proud that I could make him feel the same way he made me feel. I lightly brushed my fingertips down his chest, sucking on the spot I'd just bit down on. He was _mine,_ and no one else's. I kissed my way down his neck, lightly biting here and there, earning quiet moans from him until I reached his chest. I kissed my way around his nipple before running my tongue over it, I heard a gasp escape his throat. Oh yeah, he was definitely liking this. I grazed my teeth across the pink flesh teasingly before closing my lips around it and biting. He hissed, tugging harder on my hair. I felt his arm go around my lower back, and I slipped my arms out of the haori before he managed to turn over. I was pressed back against the mattress and his body again as he straddled my waist, his eyes wandering over my body. I held in a breath, waiting. He looked away from my body after a few very _long _seconds, into my eyes.

"Kaori, yer so beautiful." he said softly, I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

He meant it, every word. He'd managed to calm himself down enough, to tell me that he thought I was beautiful. That really meant alot to me, but right now I was more concerned with what we were doing rather than talking; we'd talk later. I nodded, thanking him for the compliment, and leaned up kissing his neck.

"Arigato Shinji." I murmured into his neck, sinking my teeth into the flesh.

He groaned in both pain and pleasure, moving his hands down my body, his fingertips lightly brushing my skin. I shivered, loving the way he was touching me. I wanted more, I was _craving_ his touches. I bit down harder, a metallic taste on my tongue. So I'd drawn blood, I bet he wouldn't be too happy about that. He hissed at the pain and I ran my tongue up his neck, cleaning the blood away. His hand moved up my chest, roughly grabbing my breast. I gasped, arching my back slightly as he rubbed my breast through the material of my bra. I needed this thing off, I wanted to feel his skin against mine. I moved my hands down his chest, loving the feel of his skin, and tugged lightly at his pants. He released me, my body dropped back on the bed, bouncing a few times at the impact. Two seconds later his lips were on mine again, his tongue dominating my mouth, the kiss so heated and passionate.

I put my arms around his shoulders, holding him close to me, as our tongues danced and battled for dominance. His legs were pressed against mine, skin touching skin, I could feel his hard length against my thigh. Things were really starting to heat up, and I had no intention of stopping them either. I groaned feeling his hand rubbing through my bra again, loving the feel of his touches. I dug my nails into his shoulders, clinging to him as he pulled my body slightly off the bed. He reached around my back, moving his lips against the bare skin of my neck, and unhooked my bra. He tossed my bra aside, still kissing and biting on my neck, and cupped my breast. I bit down on my lower lip, moaning as his thumb grazed over my nipple. I could feel sweat forming on my forehead, I was feeling so lightheaded. I'd never experienced pleasure like this before. I stared up at him, my head feeling groggy with pleasure, as he kissed his way down my neck towards my other breast. I gasped feeling him lightly bite down, arching my back. So this is what it had felt like to him earlier, god it felt amazing.

"Shinji please." I begged, moaning when he squeezed my breast harder. He chuckled, biting slightly harder than before. I moaned again, raking my nails down his back. He hissed at the pain, moving up to my neck, teasing my skin with his teeth.

"Behave." he panted, kissing my neck.

I gasped in pleasure, grabbing a handful of his blonde hair. I didn't think I'd manage to take much more of this teasing. I moaned feeling his tongue run up my neck, biting down on my lower lip when he nibbled on my earlobe. I felt like I was managing to choke on air, I couldn't think, let alone breathe. I lightly tugged on his hair, moaning in ecstasy. I could see all the sweat beginning to form on my body, I felt so lightheaded. He rested his face between my neck and shoulder and I took this opportunity to kiss the side of his face, moving down to his neck. He moaned quietly, pressing his chest against mine. I was finding it so difficult to breathe but I didn't stop, he wouldn't like it if I stopped. I ran my hands down his chest, palm down, touching everything I could. He grunted at the roughness of my hands, biting down on my collarbone. I gasped when he used one hand to pin my wrists against the mattress above my head.

"I toldja to behave." he hissed, moving his hips slightly against mine.

I whimpered slightly, nodding. I didn't care if he was the dominate one, I enjoyed not being in control for once. He hovered over me, staring down into my eyes with a look of not just want, but _need. _It looked like he _needed _me, rather than just _wanted _me. He fiercely pressed his lips against mine, his tongue running over every corner and crevice in my mouth, claiming me in a way I never thought any man could. I moaned into his mouth, trying to pry my wrists free from his strong grip. I wanted to touch him, feel his skin, it wasn't happening though. His grip on my wrists tightened slightly and he broke the kiss, leaning close to my ear.

"Nani Kaori-chan?" he cooed, kissing my temple. I was panting so hard, trying to get oxygen to my lungs, it was like it wasn't getting there quickly enough.

"Please…stop with the teasing." I asked of him, pressing my breasts against his chest. He gave me an amused look, kissing below my jaw line.

"You want it?" he teased, smirking a bit. I nodded when he pulled back from my neck, staring up into his eyes pleadingly; I'd do anything he wanted if he'd just stop teasing me. "Say it." he ordered.

"I want you Shinji." I whispered, leaning up and lightly pressing my lips against his neck. He ran his hand down my back, holding me close to his body.

"Gomen, didn't hear you Kaori." he taunted, I moaned quietly feeling his fingers of his other hand trail up my thigh. I couldn't keep my thoughts straight, I was too distracted by the pleasure. "Focus Kaori, what'd ya want again?" I gasped when he rubbed through my panties, moaning.

"I want you…to make me scream." I panted, sucking on the skin of his neck.

He chuckled at how submissive I was being and hungrily kissed me, ravaging my mouth with his tongue. I groaned at the passion of the kiss, moving my arms around his shoulders, pressing my chest harder against his. His hand moved over my ribcage down to my hip as he continued kissing me, and he hooked a finger under my panties, sliding them down my hips and off. I broke the kiss, sliding my fingertips down his chest, biting on his neck. He groaned loudly, I whimpered feeling his fingers run over my sensitive flesh. I couldn't take it anymore, this teasing was driving me crazy.

"Shinji." I pleaded, the longing recognizable in my voice.

I gasped feeling a finger slide into me and moaned slightly. What really pissed me off was he wasn't moving it. If he was going to be a tease like this, then I wanted to make him suffer a bit as well. I panted a bit, leaning forward and gently pressed my lips against his collarbone. I lightly sucked on his skin before running my tongue up his collarbone, biting hard afterwards. I whimpered in protest feeling him jerk his finger out of me, it'd felt so good...I must've really pissed him off.

"Don't…tease me…like that." he gasped, biting on my neck. I whimpered again, sinking my nails back into his shoulders.

"Please." I begged, fingering the waistband of his boxers.

He breathed lightly on my neck, his breath tickling my skin, and pressed his lips against my neck. He was able to distract me so easily, all these kisses and touches were driving me mad. He lightly ran his thumb over my nipple, moving his lips down my neck as he laid me flat against the mattress.

"Tell me." he demanded, I gasped feeling his teeth grazing the sensitive flesh of my neck.

"I want you inside me." I shouted.

"Yer sure?" he teased, I nodded.

"Please." I begged, my eyes fluttering open.

I watched Shinji pulled back from my neck, locking his eyes with mine. I stared up at him with a pleading look, begging him to stop teasing me like this. He leaned down, kissing me with such passion and want, that I had a feeling I knew what he was thinking. I gasped, feeling his length slide into me, moaning in pure pleasure. I kissed him harder, my nails running over his shoulders, down his arms as he pulled out and slammed back in. My arms wound around his neck again as I pulled his body closer to mine, pushing him deeper inside of me. I was tired of this pausing, if he wasn't willing to move then I would. It ended up me not having to, he enjoyed being in control. He thrust harder into me, shivers running down my spine at the sensation. I kissed his neck, groaning when he grinded harder against me. Our bodies were drenched with sweat, not that it really mattered, this was the most pleasurable moment of my life. I bit down on my lower lip, gasping in pleasure, and moved my hips against his as he thrust harder into me. I dug my nails harder into his skin and he hissed, slamming in harder. I gasped again, my legs going around his hips to his back, pushing him deeper.

"Please, harder." I whined, biting down on his neck. He groaned, pounding into me harder.

"Can't hear you love." he panted, kissing my below my ear.

"Harder!" I screamed, he violently slammed against _that_ spot.

He thrust in a few more times, moaning in ecstasy, before I felt the utmost pleasure overtake my body. A sensation of fire burning, so heated against my skin, right to the very core of my being. I was shaking, I didn't think I could hold in the scream I wanted to let out.

"Shinji!"

He groaned, finding his release, and bowed his head. I played with a few strands of his hair, waiting for him to calm down. I panted tiredly unwinding my legs from his waist and stared up at his face. He looked like he felt the same way I did. I felt him pull out of me and he dropped beside me on the bed, placing his arm around my waist. He held me close to him as our panting and gasping finally slowed into normal breathing. I finally got my heart to steady after a few good minutes, that had been amazing. I still felt some of the slight aftereffects of it, that was the most amazing pleasure I'd ever experienced in my life. I looked up at Shinji through my lashes, blushing. He looked at me, smiling a bit. I felt my cheeks go hotter, running my fingers down the scratch marks on his upper arm.

"Gomen." I apologized, blushing darker. "I didn't behave all that well." He chuckled, pressing his lips against my forehead.

"I forgive you my little love." he teased, rubbing his nose against mine. I smiled slightly and lightly pressed my lips against his. "I think we need ta talk Kaori." I nodded in agreement, snuggling closer to his body.

"You first." I demanded softly, placing my head on his chest. He chuckled, tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. "I'm already a whore now so whatever." I watched him shake his head, and he lightly kissed the top of my head.

"Nah, I'm done with Kazuma. Her role's through." he said, I looked at him confused.

"Nani? I don't understand, I thought you liked her." I said softly, he shook his head again.

"You'll think badly of me." he mumbled, this time I was the one to shake my head.

"I could never think badly of you." I whispered, kissing his cheek. He sighed, running his hand down my arm.

"I used her." I looked at him slightly shocked, he used _her._ I thought she'd been the one using him. "I…wanted ya to figure yer feelings out…and I used her to make ya jealous." he said, avoiding my eyes. I felt my jaw drop, he used her just so _I _could figure my feelings out for Shinji? "I've liked ya fer a while Kaori…and I wanted ta know if ya felt the same. Yer so confusing." I smiled slightly, loving that he'd done all this just for me, and ran my finger down his chest shyly.

"Next time, just be blunt and say it." I said quietly. He chuckled, lightly kissing my lips.

"Alright."

I smiled to myself, burying my face in his shoulder. So he'd liked me all along and never had an attraction towards Satomi. He'd just used her to get to me…because in reality, he'd liked _me_. Now I didn't have Satomi in the way of our relationship, I knew Shinji would break up with her as soon as she got back from the world of the living. We did have one thing standing in our way though, Seireitei. Taichous weren't aloud to have intimate relationships with each other, it was forbidden. What were we going to do…I had no real idea.

"Shinji?" He looked down at me, rubbing my back.

"Hai love?" he asked, burying his nose in my hair.

"What are we gonna do?" I asked quietly. He sighed and held me close to him.

"We'll figure somethin out Kaori-chan, I promise." he told me.

I nodded, sighing to myself in bliss. I finally had what I wanted, Shinji. No one was going to take him away from me, I wouldn't allow it. Seireitei said that we couldn't be together, I didn't give a shit. Seireitei could fucking deal with it…or not. Maybe it'd be best to keep this a secret for now, until we figured something out to do about our relationship. That meant no gossiping with friends, no telling family, no nothing…maybe I could just tell Motarasu Kumo though. He was my Zanpakuto spirit after all, he needed to know what was going on in my life. I sighed again, closing my eyes with a smile on my lips. For the first time…I actually felt like I might be in love.

"Kaori?" I looked up into his eyes curiously. He grinned, taking a strand of my hair in-between his fingers. "Keep the extensions in until ya grow yer hair out." he asked of me. I smiled sweetly and nodded.

"Hai Shin-kun." I giggled. He chuckled, kissing the top of my head.

Nothing would manage to ruin this, I'd make sure of it.

* * *

**Author's Note: FINALLY! The relationship begins, sorry for the kinda late update. You all know how Christmas can be, not too much time to write and stuff with family coming in and everything. Urg, I hate Christmas so much. Haha, I'm such a weirdo. Remember that FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER.**

* * *

_CHAPTER FOURTEEN PREVIEW_

_I turned the corner, immediately coming face to face with a bunch of my subordinates. I sighed and continued down the hallway, trying not to draw attention to myself. People moved out of my way as I walked down the hallway, gawking at me like a bunch of morons. How was I going to stand this all day long? My hair was just longer damn it, I was still the same Kaori._

_"Ohayou Otoribashi-Taichou." someone said._

_"Ohayou." I said sweetly, not bothering to look at the person. I walked a little further down the hallway._

_"Ohayou Taichou." another voice greeted._

_"Ohayou." I replied, sounding sweet again. I walked around a corner._

_"Ohayou Otoribashi-Taichou." another person said._

_"Ohayou." I said, trying not to grow frustrated with all these annoying ohayous. Were people just talking to me because I looked different or something? Eh…I wasn't going to think too much on it, it didn't really matter anyway._

_"Ohayou Taichou." I nodded in response, Why were people annoying as fuck?_


	17. Chapter Fourteen: If Looks Could, Huh?

I glanced up at Shinji, smiling when he kissed my cheek. I stared into his eyes, feeling the happiest I'd ever felt in years, and gently pressed my lips against his. He smiled into the kiss, moving his lips against mine and put his arm around my waist, holding my body close to his. I giggled to myself and broke the kiss, looking up into his grey eyes. This really had been the best thing that could have _ever _happened to me, but it needed to end for now. We had a taichou meeting later today, and Shinji needed to get out of here before we were caught. I knew it was around five or so in the morning, but we never knew when Yamamoto would call an emergency meeting. He could be quite the random Soutaichou after all. I sighed, loving the feel of his skin against mine, and he ran a finger down my cheek. He smirked seeing the blush on my face and said with a teasing tone

"Nani my little love? Embarrassed are we?"

Instead of glaring like I normally would, I felt my cheeks go hotter, and buried my face in his chest. I guessed this was the consequences of being with Shinji, he could make me blush whenever he wanted now…the jerk. I blushed darker feeling his hand slide up my back, his fingers running through my hair.

"Nothing." I mumbled, trying to hide how embarrassed I truly was.

He removed his fingers from my hair and pushed my body flat against the bed. I felt my breath catch in my throat in surprise and he leaned over me, staring straight into my eyes. I unconsciously licked my lips, watching the covers fall down his back. He was just so sexy, and I'd just admitted to it…great. He chuckled to himself, seeing how flustered he'd made me, and said

"Hehe, yer so cute when yer all embarrassed Kai-chan."

I didn't even have the right state of mind to glare or have a snippety comeback, I was just too busy being head over heels for him that my mind didn't want to think correctly. How fantastic was this? Now I wouldn't be able to act like he didn't embarrass me because he knew that he did. I nodded in agreement, leaning up and pressing my lips against his. He moaned into the kiss when I moved my body slightly against his, biting down on my lower lip. I slipped my arms out of his grip, placing them around his neck, and felt his tongue slip inside my mouth. I groaned at the roughness of the kiss and arched my back, fully pressing my chest against his. He broke the kiss, moving to kissing my neck. I gasped in pleasure, grabbing a handful of his blonde hair.

"Shinji." I murmured.

He chuckled against my neck, lightly biting down on my skin, teasing me like crazy. I bit down on my lower lip, moaning quietly. How could one person be this good? It should've been illegal to be this amazing in bed. I was panting again, my breathing getting more difficult. He was pushing me over the edge, and any second now…let's just say there'd be more sex. He kissed the skin right below my ear before moving up and blowing cold air in my ear. I gasped, raking my nails down his back. He hissed, pinning my body back against the bed. I stared up at him, feeling extremely turned on. It was all his fault, he'd deserved the pain.

"Behave." he snapped, I stared up at him with wide innocent eyes.

"You started it." I whispered, sounding innocent.

I watched his chest rise and fall, his breathing ragged. He was feeling the way I was, turned on...for the ninth time this night. He held my wrists against the mattress, not planning to let go of me and moved slightly closer to me, his hair tickling my nose. I resisted the urge to giggle and leaned up, pressing my lips against his collarbone.

"Gomen Taichou." I apologized, running my tongue up the skin. He shivered slightly, groaning when I bit down. I smirked to myself, lightly brushing my lips against his flesh.

"Do it…again." he panted, I giggled.

"Nani?" I asked sweetly, lightly kissing his neck.

"Kaori." he warned, I smirked again in amusement. I sank my teeth into his skin, feeling that same metallic taste on my tongue. He'd wanted me to draw blood…right? He moaned, lightly pressing his lips against my neck.

"Was that what you wanted Taichou?" I teased, sucking on his neck.

I eeped when he pinned me back against the mattress, staring up into his grey eyes. He really must've loved being this dominate, he'd pinned me to the bed a good three times now. His lips curved into a smirk and he ran his hand down my ribcage, resting it on my hip. I stared up at him pleadingly, wanting him to touch me. Maybe being a cocky bitch wasn't the best idea, it wasn't getting me anywhere when it came to getting pleasure for myself. I continued staring into his eyes, mentally begging him to touch me. He leaned closer to me, his chest merely inches from mine, and said

"Is there something ya want, Kaori-chan?" I nodded in agreement, why did he have to be such a teasing bastard? He chuckled, pressing his lips against my neck. I licked my lips, moaning softly. "Say it Kaori."

"Please." I begged, gasping when he lightly bit down on my neck.

"Nani?" he taunted, running his tongue up my neck. I moaned again, trying to form thoughts, my brain felt so groggy.

"Touch me Shinji, please." I pleaded, he chuckled against my neck. He slowly moved his hand up my ribcage, all the while still kissing my neck, and I heard a knock at my door.

"Fuck." he muttered. Shinji scrambled to get off me and I sat up, wrapping the covers around myself.

"Who is it?" I asked, trying to ignore how angry I was about this interruption.

"Taichou, Yamamoto-Soutaichou has changed the meeting time to seven rather than nine." Youta said from outside the door. I nodded, shaking my head to myself realizing he was outside the door, he couldn't see me nodding.

"Arigato Youta, I'll be ready by then. I'll see you at the office in a little while." I said, glancing over at Shinji. Why the hell was he getting dressed?

"Hai Otoribashi-Taichou." I listened, his footsteps slowly disappearing. I scooted over to Shinji, lightly pressing my lips against the back of his neck.

"Are you leaving?" I asked, slightly disappointed. He nodded, sighing to himself. I ran my hands down his arms, wishing he didn't have to leave me.

"I wish I didn't hafta Kaori, demo…Sousuke might-" he complained.

"Yeah I get it." I interrupted, smiling a bit. "Go on…I'll see ya at the meeting." He nodded, turning to face me. He pressed his lips against mine once before hopping to his feet and going to the window. "You can use the door you know." He looked back at me, grinning.

"Nah, someone might see me." he pointed out. I rolled my eyes at that, nodding. There was the chance that it could happen, but it was very unlikely.

"Uh huh…Shinji?" I questioned. I looked at him confused when he walked back over to me, what was he doing? He pressed his lips against my forehead and said

"My room, eleven." I giggled, nodding in agreement.

"Ok, tonight it is." I teased. He chuckled, kissing the side of my face. "Bye Shinji." He lightly kissed my lips and went back to the window, pushing it open.

"Bye my little love."

He hopped out the window, closing it afterwards. I sighed to myself in happiness and fell back against the pillows. I couldn't believe all this had happened, this was the most amazing thing to ever happen to me. What sucked about it though, was that I couldn't tell anyone about my new relationship. Rose had been wanting me to get a boyfriend for quite some time now, but I knew he wouldn't be very happy at all when he found out about Shinji. One reason was because of the law banning taichou relationships, but the main reason was because he didn't really approve of Shinji as a lover or anything. He'd known Shinji a little longer than I had, and they'd been friends longer. Sure I was the one closer to Shinji, but Rose knew how Shinji was when it came to women. He knew that Shinji wasn't the type to be in a serious relationship with a girl, but it was different with me. Shinji actually liked me, and all the other girls he'd been with were only little infatuations. I knew that Shinji liked me, and I knew that he'd treat me right. He respected me as his friend before so why wouldn't he respect me as his lover?

I smiled slightly at my perfect logic, knowing that there was no way Shinji would betray me or hurt me, and finally managed to pull myself out of the bed. I couldn't afford to lay in bed the whole day, this meeting was pretty damn important…to Yamamoto anyway. Why else would he change the time if it wasn't something important? I quickly crossed the room to my bathroom and carefully took my extensions out. I set them somewhere around the sink, making sure they wouldn't get wet. I jumped in the shower, speedily running my body wash over my skin, and got around to washing my hair. If the meeting was at seven now, I really needed to speed this shower up. Why the hell had Yamamoto changed the time in the first place, some of us actually enjoyed sleeping a little bit. After what seemed like forever I'd finished my shower and completely dried myself. I needed my hair to hurry up and dry though, I couldn't walk around Seireitei looking the way I did.

I stared at my reflection, studying my appearance. I had all sorts hickeys and bite marks all over my body, they were frickin _everywhere_! I mentally cursed Shinji for not being able to control himself and rubbed the back of my neck. My clothes would be able to hide most of the hickeys, but the only way I'd manage to hide the ones on my neck was with my extensions. I needed my hair to hurry up and dry, it'd be dry soon but not soon enough for my taste. I was quite the impatient person. I shook my head, running a comb through my hair, before walking out of the bathroom. I went through my closet, picking out my Shinigami uniform. I was making sure not to wear my own original design uniform today. I couldn't afford to let everyone see all these hickeys and bite marks, so I'd just wear the regular shihakushō until they went away. I quickly dressed, making sure to have some sexy lingerie on for this evening, and put on my haori. I grabbed my spider web necklace off my dresser, putting it around my neck.

I studied my reflection, touching my hair. My hair always dried straight, so I didn't really need to worry about curls or anything. It felt dry enough, I guessed I could put my extensions in now. I walked back into my bathroom, staring at my reflection again. I really did look slightly childlike with my hair cut so short, maybe that was why guys never hit on me when my hair was this short. I shrugged at the thought, carefully putting in my hair extensions. I pushed my hair infront of my breasts, smiling at how gorgeous I looked. I couldn't believe how grownup I looked with longer hair, I really needed to remember to never cut my hair short again. I just wanted to let it grow now, especially since Shinji liked it long. I giggled to myself, putting some chapstick on my chapped lips, and exited my room. I walked down the hallway, feeling incredibly weird about my appearance. I hadn't had my hair _this _long in ages, I wondered how everyone would react.

I turned the corner, immediately coming face to face with a bunch of my subordinates. I sighed and continued down the hallway, trying not to draw attention to myself. People moved out of my way as I walked down the hallway, gawking at me like a bunch of morons. How was I going to stand this all day long? My hair was just longer damn it, I was still the same Kaori.

"Ohayou Otoribashi-Taichou." someone said.

"Ohayou." I said sweetly, not bothering to look at the person. I walked a little further down the hallway.

"Ohayou Taichou." another voice greeted.

"Ohayou." I replied, sounding sweet again. I walked around a corner.

"Ohayou Otoribashi-Taichou." another person said.

"Ohayou." I said, trying not to grow frustrated with all these annoying ohayous. Were people just talking to me because I looked different or something? Eh…I wasn't going to think too much on it, it didn't really matter anyway.

"Ohayou Taichou." I nodded in response, opening the door to my office. I walked inside, groaning in annoyance. Why were people annoying as fuck?

"Ohayou Youta." I said boredly, sliding the door shut.

"Ohayou Otoribashi-TAICHOU!" I looked at him amused, his jaw had dropped. "Taichou…your hair." I giggled, playing with a strand of my spring green hair.

"Like it? I haven't worn extensions in ages, but I thought a change was in order. Does it look ok?" I asked, feeling a little self-conscious. He immediately nodded, lowering his head in slight embarrassment. I giggled in amusement, walking across my office and plopping down in my chair. "You look wonderful taichou." Youta said, filing some folders.

"Arigato." I said sweetly, opening up a folder. "People are being annoying though, staring at me like a bunch of boge bakas." Youta chuckled, and I continued with my ranting. "I mean ok, I have longer hair. Big whoop, it's not like I grew another head or something." Youta laughed, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Otoribashi-Taichou. I don't want you to think I'm flirting or hitting on you, but you look far more grownup with long hair. You were always beautiful Taichou, demo…now you look very…gorgeous…stunning…" He stopped, I giggled seeing his cheeks pink.

"I know Youta, and arigato for the compliments. I just…hope I don't have to deal with all the guys hitting on me. That's the reason I'd originally cut my hair off you know, so guys would stop hitting on me. Demo…I just grew bored with it so that's why I'm wearing the extensions again." I explained, he nodded. "Just for a little bit of spice…ya know?" He nodded again, looking towards the clock.

"We should go Taichou, the meeting will be starting within a few minutes." I nodded in agreement, hopping up from my seat.

"You mean like…half an hour right?" I pondered, scratching my head; he nodded.

"You'll have time to socialize for once if we get there early." he teased, it wasn't my fault I was always late. I shoved him a bit, not really doing too much. What could I say? He was strongly built, my shoving didn't have much of an affect.

"Juts because you're taller doesn't mean anything Youta." I played, not even knowing why I'd said that. He chuckled, bowing his head in respect.

"Gomen Taichou."

I giggled to myself, and we walked out of my office heading over to the first division. I sighed to myself, ignoring all the stares I was getting from everyone and continued across Seireitei. I wrinkled my nose, crossing my arms over my chest, couldn't these people just get a grip on themselves. I smiled a bit, feeling Youta place a hand on my shoulder, and forced myself to take a deep breath. I didn't want to upset the kid, and I didn't want to ruin my good mood. Shinji and I had an amazing night, and all these fools wouldn't ruin it by their staring. I glared up at the doors, sighing to myself. This was going to be tons of fun…why did they have to be so high up? Why?

"OI! Open up the doors, Otoribashi Kaori, taichou of the tenth division down here!" I yelled, waving my hand above my head.

Youta chuckled beside me, and the doors slowly opened. I trudged inside, closely followed by Youta. I sort of felt sorry for those door guys, I bet they got yelled at all the time by angry taichous…and especially me. I was always yelling at them to hurry and open the doors since I was always late. Those poor doormen. I walked down the hallway, Youta following behind me, and looked at the sign in roster. I looked up at Youta and without even being asked, he put up my wooden block for me. I giggled and said

"Arigato Youta." He nodded, moving my side-bangs out of my eyes for me.

"Aren't you ever afraid of going blind because of those things Taichou?" he asked, referring to my bangs.

I shook my head, walking with him down the hallway towards the meeting room thing. The doors seemed to actually be not that far away this time, what a surprise this was…or was I walking a little too fast? Or was it that I was actually early…ish? Early enough to where I had a little free time to talk with the other taichous…more like get jumped.

"Of course not, years of dealing with them." I said with a nonchalant tone. I didn't understand why he'd asked that question, he had side-bangs too.

Youta nodded and I sighed, pulling the right door open. This was going to be a ton of fun, all the female taichous and fukutaichou's would jump me, telling me how gorgeous I looked with long hair. Most of them would anyway, maybe not Lisa and Hiyori, Mashiro would for sure though. All the male taichous, they'd be gawking at me like a bunch of morons, except Rose. Shinji still would, he had to keep up our act of him hitting on me and me _actually _hitting him. No matter what, no one could find out about this relationship of ours. I walked inside the meeting room, closely followed by Youta. I flipped my side-bangs out of my eyes, looking up at everyone. Eyes locked on me…how great was this? Any second now. Then, surrounded…just kidding. I walked across the floor, feeling all eyes on me.

'This is just bloody great.'

"You look beautiful today Otoribashi-Taichou." Unohana said sweetly. I smiled at her, stopping.

"Arigato Unohana-Taichou. I decided to mix it up, play hairstylist." I joked, giggling a little.

"And after I gave you that awesome haircut." Yoruichi complained, I rolled my eyes at her.

"It makes the longer hair look cooler though." I pointed out, messing up my layers. "With the layers and length, it's perfect. You're a haircutting genius, I don't know _how_ you do it." She rolled her eyes, laughing a bit. I almost cringed when Mashiro bounced over, hugging me; I wasn't really in the mood to get broken bones today.

"You look so pretty Kaori-chan!" she shouted, hugging me tighter.

"Arigato Mashiro." I coughed, lightly patting her back. She released me, and I took a deep breath. I watched Unohana start a conversation up with Mashiro and looked over at Youta. "Go talk to one of the fukutaichou's or something, I'm gonna go say hi to Shunsui." He nodded and walked off to go talk to Kaien. I gracefully crossed the room, stopping beside Kyoraku. "Konnichiwa taichou." I exclaimed, giggling a little. He glared a bit, saying

"Kaori-chan…how could you?" I chuckled to myself, shrugging a little.

"Gomen, I thought you'd told Lisa." I apologized…lamely I might add. I knew he hadn't told Lisa, I just wanted to make her pissed at him, and my plan had worked out perfectly. He rolled his eyes, saying

"Uh huh…it'll take a while to earn my forgiveness back."

I raised an eyebrow, a while huh? Now that was a lie, Kyoraku couldn't stay angry with me. I _was_ his favorite fukutaichou, he knew he couldn't be angry at me for too long. I hugged him tightly around the middle, burying my nose in his kimono top.

"Gomen Taichou." I whined, hugging him tighter. "I just wanted your birthday to be special." He patted my back, sighing.

"Fine fine Kaori-chan, don't get too upset." he asked of me, not sounding very enthusiastic. I giggled, nodding. "I liked the present by the way."

"I knew you would…gomen but Rose is giving me filthy looks. Need to go see if I did something bad." I said, letting go of him. I hopped to Rose's side, looking around at Love, Kensei, and Shinji before my gaze landed on my brother. "Nani Oni-chan?" I asked sweetly, his eye twitched.

"Who are you dating?" he asked bluntly, I forced myself to look confused. He couldn't find out about me and Shinji, he just couldn't.

"Nani?" I asked, sounding pretty ditzy.

"You said you'd only wear your hair long when you got a boyfriend, who is he?" Rose pried, I rolled my eyes. I waved my finger infront of his face, giggling as I did so.

"Nope nope nope, wrong Rose. I said I'd _grow_ my hair out when I got a boyfriend, wearing extensions is one hundred percent different." I argued, smiling a little. He narrowed his eyes, he didn't look too happy with me.

"Kaori, if you're lying to me-" he started.

"Nani Rose." I whined, pouting a little. "You got mad when I cut my hair, so I decided you'd like it if I wore the extensions. Do I look that dreadful?" Rose quickly shook his head, looking angry with himself for upsetting me.

"No Kaori. You look beautiful, really." he said, hugging me. I nodded, hugging him back. I hoped the others hadn't noticed had fidgety Shinji had gotten when Rose had asked about who I was dating, that wouldn't have been good. "Gomen Kaori."

"It's ok Rose." I said sweetly, kissing his cheek. I pulled out of the hug and looked around at my guy friends. "So guys, question." Kensei, Love, and Shinji looked at me confused. "Do I look hot?" They sweat dropped.

Oh how I loved torturing them…especially with Rose around to rip their faces off.

* * *

_**The pendulum swings forward. **_

_**The story rewinding backwards to the past will pause for an instant, so that we may take a look back into the future. **_

_**The decisions made during the present, will greatly affect future events.**_

* * *

I continued staring up at the ceiling, a bored expression on my face. This room was so boring, I wanted out of here. Why couldn't I do anything fun? I pouted to myself, crossing my arms over my chest. This wasn't fair in the least. Just because my ankle was sprained, Rose just _had _to act like a worried older brother and not let me do anything fun. I'd been stuck in this room a good while, trying to occupy my time. I'd actually gotten to sleep in this morning and skip training, since my ankle was screwed up. I'd woken up not too long ago, and it was rather upsetting. I hated not waking up in Shinji's arms, it was such a downer. It was around noon right now so hopefully training was over for the time being, I _really _needed some food…and some company would be nice. Maybe Shinji would be willing to let me watch the rest of today's training, I'd sit quietly and be good…for a minute at least. I giggled to myself, smiling when I heard the door open. Shinji walked in, grinning at me.

"Finally woke up I see." he teased, I stuck my tongue out.

"Meany." I whined, pouting. He chuckled and walked across the room to me. He sat beside me, cupping my cheek. I smiled at him, lightly pressing my lips against his. "How was training?" I asked, breaking the kiss. He groaned in annoyance, falling next to me.

"Tiring." he complained, I rolled my eyes.

"You think all training is tiring." I mumbled, he poked my side. I slapped his hand away, wrinkling my nose. "You're just a lazy ass." He raised an eyebrow at me, and I giggled in amusement. He didn't look like he liked that comment too much.

"Oh really?" he asked slowly, I nodded.

"Mhm, you never wanna do anything." I groaned, waving my hands around for dramatic affect.

He smirked, what was he thinking? He moved to straddling my waist and I stared up at him, smiling a little. He chuckled, leaning down, and pressing his lips against mine. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, keeping him close to me, and bit down on his tongue…slightly hard I might add. He jerked back from my lips, giving me an evil glare. I smirked, lightly running my hands down his back.

"Nani Shinji? Did I hurt you?" I asked, sounding innocent. His eyes narrowed, oh yeah. I'd definitely just pissed him off, how great was this?

"You'll pay fer that." he warned, I raised my eyebrow. I'd pay huh? What could he do to me?

"How so?" I teased, his lips collided with mine.

I groaned into his mouth, feeling his hands rubbing through my clothing. He was being so rough, and it was downrightturning me on. I moaned again, running my tongue over the roof of his mouth; I was already starting to feel lightheaded. I pulled my lips back from Shinji's hearing a knock at the door, and Shinji climbed off me. I pouted, not happy about this interruption, and Shinji walked across the room opening the door. Rose looked at me, he still looked worried about my ankle.

"Nani Oni-chan?" I asked, trying to make myself sound sweet.

I really wasn't in a good mood though, he'd just interrupted something that would've been amazing. I love my brother with all my heart, don't get me wrong but when it came to my sex life, I didn't like when he interrupted. Couldn't he just let me enjoy myself for once?

"How's your ankle?" he asked, I shrugged.

"Haven't tried walking on it yet." I admitted, putting my hands behind my head. "Shinji can just carry me all over the place for a while."

Shinji rolled his eyes at _that_, taking a seat on the bed next to me. He put his arm around my shoulders, waiting for Rose to leave already. I could tell, just by the way he looked, that he was turned on and he wanted to finish what we'd started. Rose _needed _to leave already. Rose sighed, nodding a bit.

"Fine Kaori, do you need anything? Love and I are going out to the store, want anything?" he asked, I smiled.

"Uh huh, I'd like some…uhhh…tons of sweets!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air. Shinji chuckled next to me, and Rose rolled his eyes.

"Anything else?" I hmm'd, putting my finger to my cheek.

"Ano…ano…anooooooooo…get me a few new dvds. Some horror movies would be nice." I requested, Rose nodded sighing to himself.

"I'll see you in a little while." I nodded, waving as he shut the door. He took such good care of me, I loved my Oni-chan so much. I looked over at Shinji, and he ran his hand down my arm.

"Now…weren't you going to show me how I'd pay?" I asked with a seductive tone. His lips stretched into an amused grin, and he lightly pressed his lips against my neck. I giggled to myself, putting my arms around him.

"If you'd like me to." he teased, lightly biting at my skin.

I moaned softly, nodding. I wanted him touching me right about now, with Rose gone this was the perfect time. He never did leave me alone when I got hurt, so when he left the warehouse…it was the only alone time I managed to get with Shinji. We needed to speed things up, but at the same time…drawing them out could be fun. I giggled again, gently kissing his cheek.

"Please do." He chuckled in amusement, biting harder on my neck. I gasped softly, knotting my fingers in his blonde hair.

"Nani Kaori?" he teased, his breath tickling my skin. I bit down on my lower lip, moaning softly. He was so freaking good.

"Please Shinji." I asked of him, he pressed me against the mattress and his body.

I smiled slightly, happy that he wasn't planning to be _too much _of a tease today. I moved my leg slightly, trying to keep from damaging my ankle more than I already had, and looked up into his eyes. I held my breath in anticipation, waiting. He chuckled, seeing the longing look in my eyes, and kissed me hungrily. I tugged on his tongue ring with my teeth, moving my hands to his tie, trying to get clothing off as quickly as I could. Within seconds I managed to get both his tie and shirt off, with a little help from him, and I groaned feeling him bite down on my neck. I dug my nails into his back, moaning softly. Curse Shinji for being so incredibly sexy, curse him to the depths of hell. Everything seemed to be going on fast forward because before I even realized it, my shirt was lying beside my head, and I was feeling so fuckin turned on. I bit down on my lip, gasping in pleasure. Why the hell was he so good with his hands? Why was he so fucking perfect? Then…he stopped. What the hell? I stared up into his eyes, wondering why he'd stopped, I felt so disappointed.

"Nani Kaori?" he taunted, I pouted.

"You stopped." I whined, wanting him to touch me again. He chuckled, leaning forward, moving his hips against mine. I groaned, wondering why the hell there had to be fucking clothing there. "Shinji."

"Tell me." he ordered. I looked up at him as innocently as I could, guys thought innocent was sexy…right?

"Please…touch me." I whispered, pressing my lips against his neck. He moaned softly, loving all the teasing kisses, I was so good at turning him on. "Please…claim me as yours." I ran my tongue up his neck, smirking a bit feeling him shudder. Oh yeah, the tone of my voice was getting to him. He just needed one more push, and I knew just what to say. "Please…make me scream for you." He roughly pushed my body against the bed and ripped my shorts off.

Apparently I'd _really_ gotten to him.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait again, I started back school so I haven't had too much free time to write. Hope you enjoyed the chapter none the less and FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER**

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_CHAPTER FIFTEEN PREVIEW_

_I slid the door open and stepped inside the office. Kaien looked up from the desk and smiled at me. _

_"Ooi Otoribashi-Taichou." he greeted, throwing his hand in the air. I smiled and crossed the office. I leaned forward, my palms planted against the desk, looking down at the paperwork he was working on._

_"Behind?" I questioned, he nodded._

_"This job is tiring." he mumbled, I giggled._

_"No wonder you were napping." I said, looking at all the paperwork. "This is crazy." He nodded in agreement, saying_

_"Yeah, it's pretty lame." I grimaced, putting my hand behind my head._

_"How's your Taichou?" I asked. I was pretty worried about Ukitake, he was a good man, and I hated seeing him all sick like this._

_"He's resting, trying to get his strength back." Kaien told me, I sighed. "He should be better soon though, he's very stubborn." I nodded, knowing Ukitake was quite the stubborn man at times, and looked to see Kaien smirking. "So…what's this I hear about you having a crush or something."_


	18. Chapter Fifteen: Maybe Found Out?

"Shinji, I need clothes." I whined from the bed, he groaned in annoyance.

"Nande Kaori?" he asked, continuing with brushing his hair. "Can't ya just go back ta sleep?" I wrinkled my nose, keeping the covers wrapped around my body, and said with an annoyed tone

"Would you like Rose to walk in with me half naked? You'll die, just like you almost did the first time he caught us."

Shinji's head snapped to me, and he threw the hairbrush to the floor, darting to his closet. I felt a smirk tug at my lips, happy that he was so motivated to keep me clothed, and slipped out of the covers. I swung my legs in the air a bit, waiting for Shinji to find something for me to wear for the day. I stared down at the floor, my eyes locking on my clothes; they were shredded and completely unusable. I was happy he'd decided not to destroy my bra or panties, I didn't think he'd be able to replace those with something in his closet. I licked my lips, sighing a little. Would Shinji hurry up? We had no clue if Rose and Love were back yet from the store, and I didn't really want my brother walking in on me half naked. Especially since he'd try to strangle Shinji…again.

"Do ya want shorts Kai-chan?" Shinji asked, I nodded.

"That'd be nice. I don't think my ankle would appreciate tight pants today." I stated, looking up at him. He walked across the floor of his room to the bed, stopping infront of me. I smiled up at him, wondering what he'd picked out for me to wear. "So…find me anything pretty?" I asked sweetly.

Shinji chuckled, holding up a white with all sorts of bright colored splatters, Apocalyptica band t-shirt. I didn't really like the people in the band so much, or any of their singing, but I did like the music. The cellos were just so cool sounding, and I loved how they used cellos for the lead parts in their music rather than guitars. The sound was just so cool and unique, no one could really top what they did. This was one of those few good sounding instrumental bands today, and I just wished they would keep it instrumental rather than add singing in their music. It wasn't any good, but I could honestly say Apocalyptica was almost better than jazz. I giggled in happiness and nodded to Shinji.

"Yay! Arigato, I wanna wear it." I exclaimed, sounding like a little kid. Shinji chuckled at my tone of voice and pulled the shirt over my head. I giggled, loving how much of a sweetheart he was, and slipped my arms through the sleeve holes. "Arigato Shin-kun." Shinji chuckled again, pulling my shirt down the rest of the way for me, and I pecked his lips. "I need some shorts now."

"Way ahead of ya." Shinji said, holding up some black basketball shorts.

I felt my lips curve into a smile, watching him kneel down infront of me, and he slipped the shorts up my legs. I giggled in amusement when the shorts only made it to my thighs and took his hand. He gently pulled me off the bed, holding me against him because of my ankle, and slid the shorts up my hips. I smiled against his chest, burying my nose in his shirt, inhaling his scent. He still smelled deliciously sexy, wow. He held my body against his for a moment and finally swooped me off my feet, into his arms. I giggled in surprise and wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him close to me. He literally, was my knight in shining armor.

"Shinji, I'm hungry." I whispered, he sighed.

"Fine love." he said softly, kissing my forehead.

He inclined his face down, pressing his lips against mine once before carrying me across the room to the door. I removed one arm from around his neck and opened the door for him.

"Arigato Kaori-chan." I giggled feeling his lips press against my forehead and nodded.

"No prob." I said, poking his cheek.

He grinned, walking across the hallway, down the stairs into the dining room. I looked around the room, happy that we were the only two in here, and Shinji placed me on the table. I tilted my head to the side, wondering what was going on in that sneaky little head of his. He didn't really seem all that talkative right now, he had to be thinking about something.

"Shinji?" I asked quietly, hugging him around the waist. He kissed the side of my face, running his fingers through my hair. "Is something bothering you?"

"No love, it's nothing." he said a little too quickly, I shook my head. He was definitely lying to me, but why was he lying to me? What was he hiding from me, and why did he feel the need to hide it from me? "Believe me Kaori-chan, I'm fine."

"No you're not, you're hiding something from me." I stated, looking up into his eyes. He stared down into my eyes, rubbing my cheek with his thumb. Just by the look on his face, I could tell that something was on his mind. "What is it, you can talk to me about anything." He sighed, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead.

"Kaori, has he bothered ya again?" he asked, finding my eyes again.

I shook my head, wondering why he was still so worried over Gyaku. Gyaku hadn't said a word to me since I'd kicked his ass in my inner world, and I was pretty happy with the silence. Why was Shinji so worried over me? I could take care of myself. I was a former Taichou after all, not just some weak woman. I knew Shinji loved me, but he didn't need to get this worried over nothing. Gyaku was gone for now, and he wouldn't be bothering me anytime soon. He was too pissed off that he'd lost, and he didn't want anything to do with me for the time being.

"No, he hasn't said anything. He won't be bothering me again anytime soon Shinji." I told him, touching my fingers to his cheek. "Don't worry so much."

He sighed, leaning his forehead against mine. I ran my fingers down his cheek and stared into his eyes, trying to let him know how much I cared about him. He was my whole world, I didn't know what I would ever do without him. I didn't know if I'd have managed to survive the Hollowification if Shinji hadn't been standing by my side through it all.

"Gomen Kaori…it's just, with the war so close-"

"I know." I whispered, interrupting his apology. He didn't need to apologize for worrying about me, it was sweet that he cared about me as much as he did. I couldn't get angry over something like that. "I love you Shinji." He smiled, one of his rare genuine smiles, and said softly

"I love you too Kaori, I never want anything ta happen to ya."

I giggled, rubbing my nose against his. I loved being this affectionate with him, and I just loved everything about our relationship. We were one of the few couples that had managed to last as long as we had, I didn't think many people in Soul Society could keep a relationship like ours going for years upon years. Our relationship was more than just sex, it was more than just physical. But our relationship wasn't just about emotions or mental. We had the perfect relationship, a combination of enough sex and enough emotions. I knew for a fact that if there was more of one thing, that our relationship would break, we'd drive each other nuts. That's just how it was.

"Nothing bad's gonna happen." I said quietly, he smiled a bit at my optimism. "I promise you, you're stuck with me until the end of time." He chuckled in amusement, kissing the end of my nose.

"I look forward ta it." he teased. I tilted my head to the side, confused like. This would make him laugh for sure.

"You look forward to the end of time?" I asked, sounding ditzy. "That's not good at all, you want the world to go BOOM!"

I made the motion of an explosion with my hands, and Shinji laughed. I smiled a bit, putting my arms around his shoulders, and kissed his cheek. Shinji rolled his eyes at how outlandish I'd just sounded and poked my stomach. I giggled, hating the fact that I was so ticklish, and his lips stretched into a wide grin.

"Yeah Kai-chan, the end of time'll be great." he joked, sounding amused with me. My jaw dropped, and I looked at him appalled.

"Nu uh. How can you think the earth exploding would be good?" I asked, slapping a hand over my mouth.

He rolled his eyes again and kissed my cheek before he walked into the kitchen. I giggled and swung my legs in the air, waiting for him to make me something yummy. I needed some food in my tummy, it was all rumbly and stuff. I held my breath, making a blowfish-like face, and slowly blew the air out of my mouth. I giggled to myself, loving how random I could be, and watched Hiyori walk into the room. She looked at me sitting on the table and looked at the door the led to the kitchen. She gave me a look that asked "Is Shinji in there?" I nodded in agreement and she slid under the table, hiding herself from view. Oh this was going to be good, very good indeed. I resisted the urge to giggle hearing Hiyori crawl under the table, getting ready to pounce at Shinji when he walked out. As long as he put my food down first and it wasn't damaged, I didn't care if she attacked him. After a few long seconds the kitchen door swung open, and I watched Shinji walk out; he had no clue Hiyori was in here; my poor guy.

"Yer yakisoba's gonna be a few minutes Kaori." Shinji told me, I nodded sighing.

"Ok…what else ya making me?" I asked sweetly, he groaned. Apparently he didn't realize how hungry I was.

"What else could ya possibly want?" he asked, sounding frustrated that I loved eating as much as I did. I wrinkled my brow, pursing my lips. He needed to be a little nicer, or he wasn't getting anymore sex from me today.

"Ano…well I did want some gyoza, sashimi, and chahan." I said softly, pouting a bit. Shinji groaned again, not seeming quite happy with how much food I wanted. "Nani?"

"Ya love makin' me cook, dontcha?" he asked, not looking very happy.

I nodded in agreement, making Shinji cook for me was something I thoroughly enjoyed. He was a lazy ass over half the time, never wanting to cook, so I loved making him whenever I got the chance.

"Duh, I love food." I said with a blunt tone. He sighed, running his hand through his short hair boredly.

"Fine, whacha want ta drink?" he asked, not sounding very enthusiastic. I bit my lower lip in thought, what did I want to drink? Decisions decisions, they were so difficult to make at times.

"Ano…the grape Mitsuya Cider." I answered after a moment, pulling out a sweet and manipulative smile.

He hung his head, nodding, mentally saying that he'd get the drink for me. I giggled, I was being so demanding and bossy today. I felt a little bad for poor Shinji. But hey, it was his own fault for spoiling me as much as he did. He'd just have to get over it.

"Gomen Shinji." I apologized, pouting again. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"It's fine Kaori." he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Ya didn't get breakfast so I understand."

I smiled, looking extremely innocent, and laughed when Hiyori pounced at him. I lowered my head, laughing harder when she hit him in the face with her sandal. I wonder what her excuse was for hitting him, then again…she never really did have an excuse to attack him. She did it because she enjoyed it, and it made her day better.

"Nani Hiyori!" Shinji yelled in shock. She hit him again, this time upside the head rather than across his face.

"That was fer this mornin." Hiyori glared at the blonde, grabbing onto the front of his shirt. She pulled his face close to hers, glaring harder at him.

"What'd he do?" I asked curiously, calming myself down a little.

I was still wanting to laugh right now, but my nose was itching to know what Shinji did to piss Hiyori off so much. He always managed to do something, no matter how he acted or what he said, he was always in trouble with her. Hiyori flicked her eyes away from Shinji, finding my face.

"Yer boyfriend here, pushed me down the stairs earlier." she said angrily, I looked at Shinji shocked.

"You pushed her down the stairs." I repeated, not able to believe it. Shinji normally never did anything that bold, he must've been in a bad mood when he woke up this morning.

"She wouldn't hurry her lazy ass up." Shinji mumbled, not really caring. Hiyori hit him across the face again and released his collar, trudging to the exit.

"And he's not my boyfriend Hiyori." I yelled after her, a hand slapped down on the table next to my thigh. Well…apparently that comment had just pissed Shinji off. I watched his other hand go next to my other thigh, he leaned in closer to me.

"Nani?" he asked slowly, I looked up into his eyes.

"I just said you weren't my boyfriend." I stated simply, flipping my hair over my shoulder flamboyantly. Shinji's eyes narrowed into a glare, and I tilted my head to the side innocently. "Nani?"

"Otoribashi Chizuka Kaori."

I swallowed, trying to get the lump out of my throat; he was totally pissed off now. He was just like Rose when it came to using my full name. When he was angry with me, he used my full name, and not just regular angry. Extremely pissed off angry…times a billion. I continued giving him a blank stare, wondering what he was going to say.

"We share the same bed, we shower together, we share clothes, we fuckin sleep together. I'm your boyfriend damn it." he raged angrily, I shrugged.

"We never have made it official Shinji. I'd been wondering for years what I was to you. Are we actually just boyfriend and girlfriend…or are we engaged, or unofficially married…what?" I asked, staring into his eyes.

His grey eyes penetrated my green ones, looking passed my eyes into my soul. By the look in his eyes, I could tell he was still a little pissed off at that remark of mine. But I could also tell, that he recognized that I had a point. We never had made our relationship official, we didn't really have a title or anything. I had a feeling, that he was going to make our relationship official. I watched him take a slow breath, and he smirked. I giggled a little, happy he wasn't as pissed off anymore.

"Yer such a sneak." he said, I shook my head in disagreement. "You want a title? Fine. We're married…illegally." I giggled, pressing my lips against his cheek.

"Fine by me. I get to use your last name now, that makes me all happy and stuff." His smirk widened, and I tilted my head to the side a little "But when do I get my ring?" I teased, he chuckled in amusement.

He roughly pressed his lips against mine, putting a hand on my lower back. I groaned into the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck, and bit down on his lower lip. He hissed, I tasted a metallic liquid on my tongue. I'd drawn blood…again. Like he cared though, he liked it when I was rough. I felt his tongue slip into my mouth and I moaned softly, putting my uninjured leg around his waist, pushing his body against mine. He slipped his hand up my shirt, grabbing my breast. I groaned loudly, feeling him rubbing through the material of my bra, and ripped at his shirt. I wanted sex, now.

"We're-WHAT THE HELL?!"

And then there was Rose, and boy did he look pissed off.

* * *

_**The pendulum swings back. **_

_**The story barreling towards the future will stop for an instant, so that we may peer into the past. **_

_**Though it was only the briefest of moments, its effects were wide-spread and long-lasting.**_

* * *

I raised my arms above my head, stretching out my stiff muscles. I wished the day could be over with already, I really wanted to go see Shinji. Since the meeting had been earlier in the morning than it normally was, the day was going by in slow motion. Oh how I wished time could just speed itself up. Right now it was a little after four in the afternoon, time hadn't been going fast enough for me though. It just didn't want to be nice to me today, it was dragging out the day just to piss me off. I know, time doesn't do stuff to piss people off, but it sure as hell felt like it. I was so impatient, I wanted to see Shinji, to be intimate with him like we'd been last night. My body was burning for his, I was craving his touches and caresses, and thinking about him wasn't helping me with calming myself down.

I sighed, leaning my cheek into my palm. What else could I do to occupy my thoughts and time? I absentmindedly licked my lips, tilting my head to the side. I guessed I could always go train my new recruits…but people would be more focused on staring at me rather than focused on what I was telling them. Everyone was in a tizzy about how I'd suddenly changed my appearance, how random it was, etc. Gossip was flying all over Seireitei, everything coming from my division. People were saying that I'd decided to be more feminine and longer hair was the way to go, other people said I just wanted to show up all the women in my division, some people were saying that I wanted to prove that I was the most attractive woman in Seireitei, others said I had a secret relationship going on, and very few people were saying that I'd gotten bored with my hair and decided to change it. The last two were correct. Yes, I had grown bored with my hair and decided a change was in order. And yes, I had a secret relationship going on and Shinji liked my hair long. Like anyone was going to find out about that one though. I looked over at Youta sitting at his desk and said

"Youta dear?" He looked up from the papers, locking his gaze with mine. "I'm bored." He chuckled, holding up a folder.

"There's always paperwork Otoribashi-Taichou." he suggested, I made a yuck face.

"No way." I disagreed, shaking my head. "It'll eat me alive." He rolled his eyes, setting the folder back on the pile.

"I doubt that very seriously Taichou." he said, tapping his pen against the desk. "You're far too powerful to be eaten by a bunch of reports." I giggled, shrugging a bit.

"You have to remember though, that I have a height deficiency. If I'm not eaten, I'll be buried. So either way…I lose. My best bet of survival is to avoid all paperwork and reports as much as I possibly can." I explained, scratching the back of my neck. Youta rolled his eyes at my crazy logic and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Then what are you going to do when you have to sign your signature to them?" he asked, I tilted my head to the side in thought. What would I do when my signature was required, I could always have Youta forge it, but my signature was so unique that they'd know it wasn't mine.

"Ano…I'll have you standing next to me so you'll rescue me from drowning, and you'll kill the paperwork if it tries to eat me." I said, with an 'ah ha' type of voice.

I watched him sweat drop and giggled in amusement, my poor fukutaichou. I didn't know how he managed to put up with all my crazy antics, I was a whack job. He finally chuckled and said with an amused tone

"Hai Taichou, I'll make sure to stand right beside you. You won't perish within the paperwork."

I laughed, leaning back in my chair. This was all too funny, I loved being able to joke around with Youta like this. Anyone else would've wanted to send me to the fourth division to get my head checked, I guessed I was a rather confusing person. People did find me complicated. That, and I was just a little too random and creative for my own good…oh how I wished my spinny rolly chair was fixed. It'd been broken for a good month now. Yet again, randomness.

"When's my chair gonna get fixed?" I whined, pounding my fists on the desk. Youta rolled his eyes at my tantrum, sighing to himself.

"It should be fixed by tomorrow Otoribashi-Taichou." he told me, I pouted. Tomorrow wasn't soon enough, I wanted my chair back _now_.

"That's not good enough." I complained, crossing my arms pouting. "I've been waiting for at least a month, I want my chair back." Youta rolled his eyes, closing a folder.

"God Kaori, get over it. It's a damn chair." I felt my jaw drop and he looked up at me, shocked that he'd said that. "Gomen Taichou, I apologize. I just-"

I interrupted him, laughing hard, clutching my stomach. Ok, it was official. This kid, had _completely_ adopted my attitude. I was so proud, he better keep with calling me Kaori. I wanted to have that friendship rather than the professional thing. He could be professional when we were around other people, in the office it should be friendship. I looked up at him, still laughing, and he chuckled a bit. I swallowed, calming it down to a giggle and said

"You're my favorite." He laughed, putting his hand up to his face. "No more with the taichou shit, it's Kaori when it's the two of us." He nodded, still laughing, and I giggled to myself. We both finally stopped laughing after a minute, and I looked up from my desk at him.

"Taichou-"

"Ah." I interrupted, wrinkling my nose. "It's Kaori to you." He chuckled, looking amused. "I prefer friendship over professionalism, I'd rather us be friends than just taichou and fukutaichou. Get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah Kaori, I get it. I just…it's weird calling you by your first name." he said honestly, I nodded understanding what he was saying.

"I know how you feel, it was weird for me to start calling Shunsui by his first name." I told him, putting my finger to my cheek. "Big change, but a nice one." Youta nodded, and I smiled at him. "Being friends is something I'd really like Youta."

"Me too, gomen for being so…uptight the first couple of weeks." he apologized randomly, what brought that up? "I know I acted really…whatever you wanna say, but I was just really nervous. I didn't want to screw up, and I didn't know what kind of person you were. I guess when I woke you up that one time, I automatically thought you were a cruel and rude person even though you looked nice. Demo…now that I do know you…it feels like we're friends. And I know better than to think you're cruel, you're a really sweet person Kaori…and I enjoy being your fukutaichou." I felt a smile come to my lips and I hopped up from my desk, across the room. I hugged him tightly around his torso, hiding my face in his shoulder.

"Arigato gosaimasu Youta." I whispered, tightening my grip around him. "You have no idea how much that means to me." I felt him nod and he placed his arms around me, hugging me back. "We had so much fun together, messing with Kazuma and her friends, and I don't want that to be the last time we have fun. You're like…awesome to be around. I'd be so lonely in this office if I didn't have you as my fukutaichou." He hugged me tighter, I had a feeling he was mentally thanking me for letting him know how much I appreciated him.

"Arigato Kaori." he whispered against my hair.

I smiled slightly and snuggled close to him. I'd never imagined I'd get this intimate with Youta, but I'd begun to realize how much I cared about this kid. He was like my little brother, and I enjoyed being looked at as the older sibling for once. He looked up to me, and we were friends. I had a feeling there'd be alot more hugs in this office. I finally pulled myself out of the hug and stood next to him. I ruffled his hair and went across the room to the door.

"I think I'm gonna go see Ukitake-Taichou, see how he's feeling since he wasn't at the meeting." I told him, sliding the door open. "I'll be back later." Youta nodded, and I took a step out the door.

"Kaori…" I looked back at him over my shoulder, and he said "I don't want to push it, demo…could I call you Nee-san?" I felt a smile tug at my lips, and I giggled.

"Of course Youta-kun." I giggled again, watching his cheeks turn a pale pink, and he nodded.

"Arigato Nee-san."

I giggled, loving my new title, and walked the rest of the way out of my office. I slid the door shut and walked down the hallway of the barracks. I loved that Youta thought of me as an older sister, and I loved even more how close we were getting. This week was a really good week. Shinji and I had finally gotten together, I'd managed to lie through my teeth to Rose and not get caught, Youta and I were developing a stronger friendship, and…I couldn't think of what else but I would eventually. This week was just a great week, I hoped nothing would ruin it. Then again…the amount of paperwork, all the missions I had to assign, and writing out those reports, discharges, acceptances from the Academy, etc was doing a pretty good job ruining my week. That's why I hated being a taichou at times, so much stuff to do.

I walked across Seireitei in the direction of the thirteenth division, thinking about all sorts of things. The main thing that was on my mind, was Kazuma Satomi. She'd been gone for almost a month in the world of the living on that mission, she'd be back in the next couple of days. I didn't want to have to deal with that little whore being back, she was just another annoyance to add to my list of annoyances. I knew Shinji was going to dump her as soon as he saw her, but I was still going to have to deal with her everyday. Sure I could rub it in her face that I was right and she was wrong, but I was slightly worried about what she'd say to me when Shinji dumped her. I knew I could lie to her, but what if her friends let her know how much better my friendship with Shinji had gotten. She wasn't the sharpest Zanpakuto in the box, but she wasn't stupid either.

What if she managed to find out about my relationship with Shinji? I'd be screwed into the ground. I knew that Yamamoto wouldn't immediately believe her, but I also knew that he'd have Shinji and I checked out. Of course he wouldn't say anything to us, he'd have some Shinigami follow us around in secret, trying to find out if we had a relationship. If so, then he'd confront us about it. I didn't know what type of punishment he'd give us, hopefully not death, that'd be a little overdoing it just a smidge. Maybe one of us would be forced to resign or something, I wouldn't really care to resign. As long as I could still be with Shinji, sure. I'd resign in a heartbeat, but I'd want to make sure that whoever replaced me wouldn't disgrace my division. I'd worked hard to get the tenth division a good reputation, and I wouldn't allow _anyone _to ruin it.

I walked inside the thirteenth division's barracks, loving the scenery outside. It was so gorgeous over in this area, I was a little jealous my division's area didn't look like this. Maybe we needed some more trees and flowers…I'd have to talk with Youta about it later. I walked down the hallway, smiling at the Shinigami that spoke to me, and knocked on the door of the taichou's office.

"Come in." a sleepy voice said. So it was Kaien huh? Ukitake must've not been feeling better. I slid the door open and stepped inside the office. Kaien looked up from the desk and smiled at me. "Ooi Otoribashi-Taichou." he greeted, throwing his hand in the air. I smiled and crossed the office. I leaned forward, my palms planted against the desk, looking down at the paperwork he was working on.

"Behind?" I questioned, he nodded.

"This job is tiring." he mumbled, I giggled.

"No wonder you were napping." I said, looking at all the paperwork. "This is crazy." He nodded in agreement, saying

"Yeah, it's pretty lame." I grimaced, putting my hand behind my head.

"How's your Taichou?" I asked. I was pretty worried about Ukitake, he was a good man, and I hated seeing him all sick like this.

"He's resting, trying to get his strength back." Kaien told me, I sighed. "He should be better soon though, he's very stubborn." I nodded, knowing Ukitake was quite the stubborn man at times, and looked to see Kaien smirking. "So…what's this I hear about you having a crush or something." I grinned, leaning closer to him.

"It's you Kaien." I said with a flirtatious tone, batting my eyes. "I've been in love with you since the day we met." His jaw dropped, and I mentally laughed.

"Huh?"

It was always fun messing with Kaien, his head would explode soon because of my games.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long for an update, college shit has me so backed up that I don't have too much free time to write anymore. I deeply apologize for making you lot wait for about a month. The next chapter may be an extra scene from Kaori's childhood, I'm not too sure though. If it is a filler, the reviews for this chapter will go towards Chapter Sixteen. Alright, you all know what to do FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER!**

* * *

_CHAPTER SIXTEEN PREVIEW_

_"What the fuck?"_

_I let a sigh pass through my parted lips and continued to stare at my brother with a blank expression on my face. Why was he overreacting about this so much? It wasn't like I was unwilling or something._

_"Rose, get over it." I said boredly, leaning my back against the counter. __"You can't tell me what to do Rose." That might've not been the best thing to say._

_"Otoribashi Chizuka Kaori." he shouted._


	19. Extra: Scene Three

_**Click**_

_**Click**_

_**Click**_

_**These are the only sounds echoing in the black, three seconds intervals between the clicks.**_

_**A golden pendulum is suspended in the air, slowly swinging back and forth, to and fro.**_

_**In order to understand the future, it is evident that we most know the past.**_

_**In order to understand relationships, we must know the very beginning of them.**_

_**In order to further understand people, we must know their history.**_

_**The golden pendulum slows to a halt, stopping time for a mere instant.**_

_**The pendulum begins to swing in reverse, going further into the past then we'd ever ventured before.**_

* * *

A teenage Otoribashi Kaori sighed quietly to herself, resting her cheek against the palm of her hand, while her elbow was propped up against the kitchen table. She was dressed in some ripped up jeans, a sky blue long sleeved shirt, and some black fingerless gloves. She stared at the wall, trying to ignore how utterly bored she was, and glanced over at her twin brother. He was wearing some khaki pants, a white and green long sleeved polo shirt, and his semi long hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. A frown was also sitting on Rojuro's lips, he didn't look very happy with her. She wrinkled her nose at the look he was directing towards her, saying

"Nani Rose?"

The blonde boy raised an eyebrow at her, crossing his arms over his chest. He tapped his foot against the wooden floor, keeping his hazel eyes locked with Kaori's olive green ones. He tried his hardest to keep his eyes from moving to her left arm, but it was beginning to become a very hard battle for him. She just never could seem to keep that little head of hers out of trouble.

"Nani?" he repeated, she almost groaned quietly at his annoyed tone of voice. "You want to know, why I'm pissed off?"

"Yeah, I kinda do." she said, adding a smart ass tone into her words.

"Why wouldn't I be pissed off Kaori?" he exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air above his head. "You got jumped…again!"

She lowered her head, pulling a couple of hair bands off her wrist, and tied her below shoulder length hair into pigtails that fell halfway down her arms. She leaned back in her chair, putting her hands behind her head.

"It's just a bruise Oni-chan, no big deal." she said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"How can you think it isn't a big deal?" he argued, she rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. "This is the fifth time this week that you've come home sporting a new bruise or cut."

"People get annoyed with me, so what?" she grumbled, scratching her ear.

"So that gives them the right to beat you up?" Rose questioned, sounding aggravated with his younger twin. She rolled her eyes, bolting up from her seat when she heard a knock at the door.

"I've got it." she yelled, running towards the door.

"Kaori, we're not done here." Rose warned, she ignored him.

The green haired girl skid to a stop in front of the door, easily opening it. A smile came to her lips when she saw the three teenage girls standing there, with their backs turned to the door.

"Finally, I've been waiting all day for you all to show up." Kaori exclaimed, the three girls turned to face her.

The first girl's name was Kuna Mashiro, she had green hair just like Kaori, only her hair was a bright green rather than spring green. Her hair was slightly above shoulder length and incredibly curly, her eyes were wide and brown. She had a very childlike look on her face, despite being a teenager, but that's what Kaori thought made Mashiro fun to be around. She had a red scarf around her neck, a tight fitting pink long sleeved shirt, and some tight jeans. The girl standing next to her, was the shortest out of the three, as well as the youngest; Sarugaki Hiyori. Hiyori had light blonde hair, pulled up into high pigtails and brown eyes, an annoyed look was on her face. She was extremely hotheaded at times, but that was one of the things that made Kaori and the girl such good friends. They both had outrageous tempers at times and let their anger loose on people that pissed them off. Hiyori was wearing some baggy jeans and a red half sleeved shirt, her pants were held up be a black belt. Lastly, there was Yadōmaru Lisa. Lisa had long black hair, stopping around her midback, and it was tied into braided pigtails behind her. Her eyes were dark brown and she had some glasses resting on her nose, giving her a more intelligent look. Lisa was wearing a short black skirt, that went slightly above mid thigh level, and she was wearing a blue short sleeved shirt. Although Lisa was more quiet than the other two girls, Kaori still found her to be fun to talk to, they both talked about boys together a good amount of the time.

"If ya woulda answered the door sooner we could be on our way." Hiyori grumbled, Kaori giggled softly.

"Ah ha ha, gomen Hiyori." she apologized, rubbing the back of her head.

"Aw, Kaori-chan, you should wear your hair in a ponytail." Mashiro exclaimed, sounding especially whiny and pouty. "It'd look better than your pigtails."

"Agreed." Lisa said, Kaori rolled her eyes.

"Fine fine." she grumbled, pulling her hair out of the pigtails. She knew if she didn't do ask Mashiro asked, she'd throw a tantrum about it until she got her way. "It's gonna be weird though, I've had my hair like this for ages."

"Change is always good." Lisa commented, Kaori shrugged a little before pulling her hair up into a high ponytail as requested.

"Eeek, so pretty." Mashiro screeched, Hiyori glared at the greenette.

"Mashiro." she warned, the girl ignored her and hugged Kaori tightly.

"It looks so good on you." she babbled, squeezing her arms tighter around the slowly suffocating girl. "I knew it would, I just knew."

"Mashiro, you might need to let Kaori go before she dies from lack of air." Lisa advised with a bored tone of voice, Mashiro pouted.

"Okay." she mumbled, releasing her death grip on the other green haired girl.

Kaori coughed violently from the serious lack of air, placing her hand over her heart. She smiled a little at the girls after the coughing fit had ceased and looked over her shoulder, yelling

"Oni-chan, I'm going out. See ya later."

"Kaori-" he started.

She slammed the door shut before he had time to express the rest of his thought and she walked down the streets with the other teenagers, scratching her nose boredly. She looked over, giggling when she saw Lisa staring straight at a bookstore. She lightly poked the black haired girl's shoulder, Lisa turned her attention to Kaori.

"Would you like to go in the bookstore Lisa?" she questioned, Lisa nodded in agreement.

"There's a sale today." she pointed out, Mashiro cocked her head to the side curiously.

"A sale…would they have books with tons of pictures on sale too?" she asked curiously, Lisa adjusted her glasses and nodded to Mashiro.

"Yep." she agreed.

"Let's go." Mashiro pleaded, pouting her normal pout at the girls.

"Do we hafta?" Hiyori complained, not sounding very enthusiastic.

"Please please please!" Mashiro begged, bouncing up and down.

Kaori watched the girl, not feeling very surprised by how much energy she possessed. Mashiro was always the most energetic and enthusiastic out of the four girls, she was also the most immature even though she wasn't the youngest. Kaori rolled her olive green orbs towards the sky and said

"Yeah Mashiro, we can go to the bookstore. Hiyori doesn't mind, she's just a lil grumpy today."

Hiyori turned her attention to the green haired girl, narrowing her eyes at her. Kaori nodded towards Mashiro, letting the blonde know that it was the only way that they would've managed to shut up her whining. Hiyori let out a frustrated sigh, nodding in agreement.

"Yay!" Mashiro cheered, throwing her hands in the air in excitement. "Let's go now."

The other three girls nodded and followed an enthusiastic Mashiro into the bookstore, watching as she darted off towards the children's section. Lisa rolled her eyes to herself and went to a more advanced section in the store, the adult novels. Lisa was the most intelligent out of all the girls, she had keen intellect and extremely excelled when it came to reading. Hiyori grumbled to herself and went over towards the magazines, not having any real idea what she was going to look for. Kaori looked around for a moment before she just decided to go with Lisa, trotting over to her side. She stood on her tiptoes, looking at the book over Lisa's shoulder.

"Whacha got there Lisa?" she asked curiously, Lisa shrugged.

"I just randomly picked it up, it's a romance novel of some sort." she told her, the greenette nodded a little.

"Whacha got from it so far?" she questioned, Lisa wrinkled her nose in thought as she looked over the pages.

"So far, it's some love triangle thing. The chick's been arranged to marry some guy that she doesn't know, she's from some royal family or whatever. The noble guy's apparently in love with her even though he doesn't know her but she's not in love with him. She's in love with one of her father's servants instead, and the servant guy loves her too. She's not aloud to be with him though."

"And oh how the drama escalates." Kaori laughed, Lisa chuckled softly to herself in amusement.

"You know it." she agreed, turning a page. "Woah…"

"You okay?" Kaori asked, trying to see what was on the next page. "Woah…"

"Yeah…really woah." Lisa agreed, Kaori nodded dumbly as she read through the page.

"They're so going at it." Kaori whispered, Lisa pushed her glasses slightly up her nose.

"Forbidden sex…damn." she mumbled. Kaori shook her head, snapping herself out of the daze. "I've gotta buy this book."

"There's prolly more just like it in this section." Kaori pointed out, Lisa quickly grabbed another book and riffled through the pages.

"Holy shit, this one's the same too…more sex." she gasped, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "And this one…and this one…and this one…"

"I'm borrowing those some time." Kaori stated, Lisa nodded in agreement.

"After I finish them." she laughed, Kaori rolled her eyes to herself in amusement.

"Well…I'm gonna go see if I can find something that doesn't have sex in it." she joked, Lisa giggled softly. "I'll see ya in a few."

Kaori walked away from Lisa, rolling her eyes when she saw Lisa had picked up another book in the adult section. She wrinkled her nose in thought as she walked through the stores, she'd giggled softly to herself when she'd passed by Mashiro since she was playing with some of the stuffed animals. She tilted her head to the side as she stopped in a random section of the store, picking up a book. What was this? She looked through the pages, pursing her lips in thought as she read through it. It had quite a good amount of fighting in it, tons of action scenes and a little bit of romance so it wasn't as bad as the books Lisa was picking out for herself. She walked over towards the music books, looking for one to buy for her brother. She knew that he'd already read through most of the music books in his room, he must've needed another. Kaori smiled slightly to herself when she found a book for her twin and rummaged through her pockets, pulling some money out as she walked to the counter. She quickly paid for her books, giggling when she saw Lisa come to the counter with her arms loaded with books. Mashiro trotted behind her after a minute or so, about seven children's books in her arms. Hiyori hadn't brought anything back, she wasn't much of a reader. After paying for their books and Lisa getting two bags filled with them, they exited the bookstore.

"God Lisa, how many freakin' books did you buy?" Hiyori questioned, Lisa shrugged to herself at the question.

"I think twenty or something." she said nonchalantly, Hiyori's jaw dropped in shock at the number of books.

"Twenty?" she repeated, Lisa nodded.

"Some are for my oka-san though, she's a reader too." Lisa admitted, Kaori nodded in agreement.

"Yep, her oka-san's always reading when I visit." she added.

They walked a little way down the street and Mashiro giggled softly to herself, Kaori tilted her head to the side in confusion. Why was Mashiro laughing about something that wasn't funny? She normally always laughed at something that was funny, rather than laughing at random. What was she thinking about?

"Nani Mashiro?" she asked curiously, poking her arm.

"Kaori-chan, do you have a boyfriend?" she questioned, Kaori's eyes narrowed in annoyance. A boyfriend, what brought that up? It wasn't like Mashiro to ask about something so random.

"God no, why would I have a boyfriend?" she asked, wondering what was going through the girl's mind.

"Well…some boy is looking at you." Mashiro told her with another giggle, Kaori's jaw dropped in shock and they stopped walking.

A boy was looking at her? Normally the boys didn't approach her because of her brother being so protective, the only ones that did approach her were the ones that always liked picking fights with her.

"Dang Kaori, you have some secret admirer." Lisa teased, Kaori felt her cheeks go warm in embarrassment.

"Tch, doubt it." she mumbled, rubbing her arm.

"Who is it Mashiro? Don't point him out, just describe him." Lisa pried.

"Ano…ano…ano…I'm not good at describing people." Mashiro whined, Hiyori rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Then where's he standing?" she groaned, getting slowly fed up with the girl's whiny voice.

"Ano…he's with three other boys." Mashiro stated, smiling her normal bright smile. "He's over at the big oak tree."

The other three nodded, Kaori cautiously looked over her shoulder towards the oak tree. She felt her eyes widen in surprise when she'd realized who Mashiro was talking about before she burst out laughing in amusement.

"What the heck's so funny?" Lisa inquired, sounding confused.

"Nothing." Kaori laughed, shaking her head to herself. "Follow me guys."

Kaori turned in the direction of the oak tree, walking through the streets with the girls towards the huge tree. They all looked at her curiously as the followed the green haired girl, Mashiro was giggling quietly to herself. Hiyori was rolling her eyes at Mashiro's giggling fit, Lisa wasn't paying too much attention to them though, her attention was mainly focused on Kaori. Kaori giggled softly to herself and they made it off the streets, walking through the grass towards the oak tree.

"Ooi dork." Kaori greeted as they made it a few feet away from the tree, the blonde rolled his eyes to himself.

"Ooi weirdo." the blonde said, Kaori giggled and took a seat across from him. "Haven't seen ya in a few days."

"Yeah, been hanging with my friends." she told him, looking over her shoulder at the girls. "Guys…you can sit down. He's cool…sometimes."

"I resent that." the blonde grumbled.

The girls all took seats next to Kaori, looking over the four boys. They all immediately recognized Rojuro/Rose since he was Kaori's older brother, they didn't know the other three though. The silver haired boy had on a pair of faded ripped jeans, a green muscle shirt, and a pair of black fingerless gloves. The black haired boy was wearing some black basketball shorts and a red t-shirt, some sunglasses were covering his eyes. The blonde boy had on a pair of tan khaki shorts and a white & light blue checkered button up, he had a light blue tie hanging loosely around his neck, as well as a belt holding his shorts up.

"So…that's Love, he thinks he's so cool." Kaori started.

"Shut it Kaori." Love interrupted, Kaori stuck her tongue out at him.

"Jerk." she accused, wrinkling her nose a bit. "And that's Kensei, he thinks he's a badass since he's all strong."

"Bitch." Kensei grumbled, Kaori smiled innocently.

"That's Shinji, he's a weirdo and total loser." she continued, Shinji tackled her to the ground at the insult.

"You-"

"I'm gonna-"

"You're such a-"

"Oh bite me-"

"I'll strangle-"

"Shut your mouth-"

"Why I outa-"

"You jerk-"

The three girls watched in shock as the pair continued to wrestle on the ground, yelling all sorts of insults at each other and calling each other the most childish things. They didn't understand in the least what was going on, why wasn't Rose jumping to his sister's defense like he always did? They'd been with the pair a good number of times when Kaori had gotten into fights with the other neighborhood boys, Rose had always come to his sister's aid when a boy had tried attacking her. Now though, he just looked bored. The three girls looked at each other hesitantly, not really knowing what they should do and Rose said

"Don't worry about them, they fight like this on a daily basis."

"So they're friends then." Lisa concluded, the blonde nodded.

"Been best friends since they were kids, but they always fight with each other." he explained, ignoring the continuing argument going on between the pair. "It's so annoying."

"Sounds like it." Hiyori grumbled, Kensei groaned quietly at how loud the pair were being.

"Oi stop with your fighting." he shouted, his hand clenching into a fist.

Kaori looked away from tugging at the blonde's hair, narrowing her eyes darkly at Kensei. What did that jerk think he was doing, interrupting their fight? It was all Shinji's fault, he'd been the one to start it so why the hell was Kensei getting all pissed off with her? She wrinkled her nose and yelled

"Shut your mouth baka, he started it."

"Kaori, I'm gonna kick your ass." the silver hair boy threatened, she snorted.

"Please." she groaned, not feeling intimidated in the least. "I'll pown your ass."

"Why I outa-"

"Calm down Kensei." Love said, placing a hand on the teenager's shoulder. "You know she's always like this."

Kensei grumbled softly but nodded, saying nothing else. Kaori smirked to herself and turned her attention back to the blonde, narrowing her eyes at him when he made a face at her. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and jerked at it so his face was merely a few centimeters from hers, their noses almost touching.

"What the hell?" she growled slowly, he smirked at her.

"You're so short tempered." Shinji teased, she hit him upside the head.

"Jerk." she grumbled, moving back over to her friends. Shinji groaned to himself in annoyance and sat back down in his original spot, looking at the girls that he had yet to be introduced to. "Anyway, this is Hiyori." Kaori said, gesturing towards the blonde girl. "That's Mashiro-"

"Kaori-chan, I'm hungry." Mashiro whined, interrupting her.

"Oh god, not again." Lisa grumbled to herself.

"I want food." Mashiro whined, Hiyori's eye twitched in annoyance. "Waahaa, I wanna eat rice cakes with-"

"Mashiro, shut it." Hiyori barked, Mashiro's whining only grew louder at the demand.

Kaori lowered her head, wishing she would've remembered to bring some food along for the greenette and glanced at the boys. Kensei looked the most annoyed out of all of them, she could see that Love was trying to calm him down, he was having no such luck. Kensei had such a short temper, it was only a matter of seconds before…

"Oi, shut up you dumb girl." he shouted, Mashiro made a face at him.

"Kensei's a dummy Kaori and a meany too." Mashiro whined, Kaori giggled quietly to herself in amusement. She knew that this would only frustrate Kensei more, he hated to be insulted by people…especially when it came to his intelligence.

"What'd you say?" Kensei growled, Mashiro began rolling around on the ground.

"Meany meany meany meany." she repeated, flailing her arms around. "Kensei-baka's a meany!"

"I'm gonna-" Kensei started, looking like he was going to attack her. Love quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him back down into the grass.

"Calm down." he instructed, Rose sighed.

"She's always like this." he explained, Shinji rolled his eyes to himself. Kaori raised an eyebrow at Mashiro's tantrum before finally saying

"And this is Lisa."

"Yer definitely my first love." Shinji told her with a deadpan stare, Kaori felt her eyes narrow in annoyance.

What did he just say? Did he just tell Lisa that she was his first love? Okay, this was not cool in the least in her book. Did Shinji think Lisa was prettier than she was or something? Wait, why did she even care if Shinji thought Lisa was prettier than she was, it wasn't like she liked the blonde. He was just her best friend, so why did she feel so jealous? She glanced over to see Lisa snort at Shinji's comment and she pulled a book out of one of her bags, opening it to the first page.

"In your dreams." she mumbled, beginning to read the book. Kaori giggled to herself and glanced over to see Shinji not looking very amused with being turned down for the fourth times that week.

"You just got served." Kaori laughed, Shinji rolled his grey orbs towards the clouds.

"Shaddup Kaori." he groaned, resting his elbow on his knee.

"Make me." she dared, raising a fist threateningly. Love ignored the girl and blinked curiously when he saw the black haired girl reading something and crawled over to her, the title of the book looked rather interesting.

"Whacha reading?" he questioned, looking at it from the side.

"It has sex in it, that's all I know." Lisa told him with a shrug. "I have plenty more if you want one to read."

"Arigato." he said, looking through one of her bags.

Love finally grabbed a book for himself after a few minutes worth of searching and opened it to the first page after he'd read through the summary on the back. He ignored Kaori and Shinji as they continued arguing, reading through the book. Kensei was getting so utterly annoyed by this green haired girl's complaints, it was driving him to the brink of insanity. He'd never met a girl so loud and annoying and whiny and complaining…god. Rose groaned when Shinji and Kaori continued yelling at each other and said

"Alright break it up, you're being too loud."

"He started it Oni-chan." Kaori whined, Shinj glared hatefully at her.

"Yeah right you little brat." he said, Hiyori chuckled quietly to herself in amusement. This was getting really good, she absolutely loved it. She wrinkled her nose when Shinji looked over at her, raising an eyebrow at her.

"What's yer problem?" she shouted, glaring at him.

"Well what's your problem shorty?" Shinji countered, Kaori stuffed her fist into her mouth at his words. That wasn't the best thing for him to call Hiyori, he was so gonna get it.

"What'd you call me?" Hiyori raged, pouncing at him.

Kaori watched in amusement as Hiyori started beating up on the blonde boy, giggling quietly to herself. She scooted over to her brother, poking his cheek boredly. He rolled his eyes and flicked her forehead, she giggled again. She glanced over to see Kensei and Mashiro arguing, it wasn't so much an argument though. Mashiro was whining and complaining about how hungry she was and all the food she wanted, as well as calling Kensei all sorts of insulting names. Kensei was insulting her as well, calling her a bunch of different names too. Love and Lisa were leaning their backs against the tree, reading silently together. Hiyori and Shinji were still rolling around on the ground, the blonde girl was obviously winning their fight. Kaori glanced over at her older twin, he smiled slightly at her.

"Nani Imouto?" he questioned, she shrugged slightly at the question.

"We have some of the weirdest friends…ya know?" He nodded in agreement with her, a small grin coming to his lips.

"It'll be a ton crazier now that Lisa, Mashiro, and Hiyori have joined our group." he pointed out, she laughed to herself.

"Yeah, that's true." she agreed, playing with a few strands of her hair. "Besides the fighting, everyone seems to get along pretty well." Rose laughed at that, not seeming like he agreed.

"We don't have to completely get along to care for each other." he commented, she tilted her head to the side a bit.

"That doesn't make too much sense…oh well though." she said, grabbing her book out of the bag. "Oh and I got a music book for you Oni-chan." He smiled gratefully and took the book from her, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Arigato Kaori." he said, opening up the book.

Kaori smiled slightly and opened her own book, ignoring all the shouting going on around her. That was the day when they all were brought together as one group, a group of friends that would remain friends throughout their teenage years, Academy days, and even when they made it into the Gotei 13. Friends that would go beyond even that, friends that went through the Hollowification process together…and even through the final battle in Karakura Town.

Their friendship, never wavered in the slightest.

* * *

**Author's Note: So there you go, that's my interpretation of how they all became friends. Yeah, it's probably not true but what the hell? My imagination just started thinking and I went with it. Ha ha! The next chapter will be up soon, pinkypromise =]**


	20. Chapter Sixteen: Secret Conversation

I walked down the hallway, stopping infront of the door that led to Shinji's room. I licked my lips and took a slow breath. I didn't understand why I was nervous again, Shinji and I _were_ together after all. Maybe I was just afraid of us getting caught in the act. So if I was afraid of being caught, I didn't need to stand infront of his door looking like a complete fool. I needed to get inside incase someone came to his room. Sure the taichou's quarters were private, but sometimes people would take a wrong turn and wind up in a taichou's hallway. It was very difficult to keep your head straight this late at night anyway, I'd actually almost taken a wrong turn on my way here. Being tired didn't really get me anywhere. Yeah, I'd taken a nap for a few hours before eleven but I was still sleepy as fuck. Not getting much sleep last night might've been the reason for it.

I swallowed, pulling my long hair out of the high ponytail, and loosened the sash around my waist. I wanted to make things a bit easier for us tonight, I'd even left my haori back in my room so it'd been slightly more difficult for people to recognize me if they'd seen me walking across Seireitei. I felt my cheeks go hot, thinking about what was going to happen tonight, and raised my hand to the door. I let a sigh pass through my lips and lightly knocked on the door. I was waiting maybe ten seconds before the door slid open. There stood Shinji, looking sexy as ever…in a shihakushō. How was it possible for someone to look sexy wearing the Shinigami uniform? It was so plain and boring. Maybe it was just from where I thought he was attractive and I liked him. My mind automatically saw him as drop dead sexy, no matter what he was wearing...or wasn't. My hormones confused me so, I'd never understand them. I felt my cheeks burn hotter when Shinji's lips curved into a sexy smirk. Can someone say _hot_?

He reached out, gently taking my hand, and pulled me inside his room. I grabbed onto the handle behind me and without looking, slid the door shut. I looked up into Shinji's face, meeting his eyes. The stare he was giving me, it was penetrating through my eyes, and in a way…speaking to me. I could see through his eyes, so many different emotions he was feeling right now. The main one, as well as the first one I recognized, was lust. I was feeling the exact same way about that one. I blushed darker when Shinji's hand moved to my face, his fingers sliding down my cheek. They moved across my cheek, running around my jaw line before sliding down my throat. He never turned his gaze away from my eyes, his eyes were focused on mine the entire time.

"Shinji…"

I felt my breath catch in my throat when his hand moved around to the back of my neck, tilting my face upward. I absentmindedly licked my lips and stood on my tiptoes, leaning my face closer to his. I stopped a few centimeters short of his lips, locking my eyes with his. He stared straight into my eyes, and after a few long seconds he finally said

"Fuckin tease." I felt a smirk tug at my lips and said with a seductive tone

"Do something about it then." A grin stretched across his face, he looked rather amused.

"Oh I will." he promised.

His lips came down on mine, his tongue invading my mouth, dominating me. I moaned into the passionate kiss, locking my arms around his neck. His arm went around my waist then he broke the kiss. That was a little too quick for my taste, I enjoyed feeling his lips against mine. I giggled when his other arm went under my knees, and he scooped me up into his arms. So that's why he'd broken the kiss, he could be so cute at times. I smiled at him before pulling his face down to mine and roughly pressed my lips against his. He groaned into the kiss and took a few steps backwards, he broke the kiss and my body made impact with the bed. I glared up at him, hating that he'd been a jerk like that. Why'd he have to go and break a good kiss like that? He smirked seeing my glare and leaned over me, placing both legs on either side of my thighs. I leaned up a bit, using my hands, my face a few inches from his.

"Nani Kaori-chan? What's with the glare?" he teased, moving his head around to kiss my cheek. I wrinkled my nose and said quietly

"You're such a jerk." He chuckled, lightly kissing the area below my ear.

"How so?" he asked, sounding amused. I bit down on my lower lip, trying to keep in an upcoming moan.

"You ruined two awesome kisses." I explained, putting an arm around his shoulders. I tangled the other hand in his hair as he continued with kissing down my neck. He lightly grazed his teeth over the flesh of my neck, his breath hot against my skin.

"I'll make it up to ya." he said with a seductive tone. I grinned to myself and heard a quiet moan come from my throat feeling him bite down.

"Shinji."

I could just feel him smirk against my skin when I moaned his name, he just loved being able to make me do that. I could feel myself getting more turned on with the more kisses and love bites he planted on my neck. I couldn't believe how good he was. Here I'd only been in this room a good five to ten minutes, and he was already getting to me. I could feel the material of my shihakushō beginning to stick to my skin, god I needed to get these fucking clothes off. I blinked, trying to focus my thoughts on getting clothes off, and moved my fingers out of his hair. I slid my arm around his shoulders, moving my hand down his chest before tugging at his top. He chuckled against my flesh before planting another kiss there and moving away. I looked up into his eyes, feeling a little dazed, and felt my cheeks go hot at his smirk.

"You first."

I felt my blush go darker at his tone of voice but nodded, more than willing to comply to the command. I moved my other arm from around him and slid out from under him. I almost raised an eyebrow at the grin on his face but forced myself not to. I let a quiet sigh pass through my lips before tugging at the sash around my waist. I tossed the sash in the floor before moving my fingers to my top. I glanced at him, smirking at little at the lustful look he was giving me, I didn't even have my fucking shirt off for god's sake. I felt another smirk tug at my lips, damn he looked impatient. He narrowed his eyes at my smirk and leaned forward, lightly pressing his lips against my neck. I moaned quietly when he lightly bit down on the sensitive spot on my neck and scowled when he pulled back.

"Undress, now." he ordered, I felt my cheeks go warmer at the seductive tone.

Yeah, I couldn't tease him any longer with this or I'd drive myself crazy. I moved my eyes away from his, almost ripping off my top and tossed it in the floor. I didn't even need to look at him to know he wanted my pants off as well, no playing tonight. I quickly slid my pants off, throwing them in the floor, and looked up into a pair of grey eyes. I felt my breath catch in my throat and he leaned down, roughly pressing his lips against mine. I groaned quietly, loving how aggressive he was being towards me, and ran my tongue along the roof of his mouth. I moved my hands to his shirt, lightly tugging at the material again. He pulled out of the kiss, and I leaned up close to his ear, saying with a seductive tone.

"I'm not the only one that's going to be naked here."

I ran my tongue up his neck to his ear and could just feel him shudder. I lightly nibbled on his earlobe, smirking to myself when I heard a soft moan come from his throat. He said

"Ya want them off so bad, take them off yerself."

I blushed a little when he said that, he wanted me to _undress _him? I giggled a little at the thought, sinking my teeth into his neck. He groaned loudly, pinning my body down against the bed. I pouted, not liking how he was ruining my fun but didn't fight against him. He could do whatever he wanted to me, and I wouldn't complain. I looked up into his eyes, trying to keep myself under control, but it was so hard since I _really _wanted him. He chuckled a little seeing the wanting look in my eyes and planted a kiss on the side of my face. I wiggled a little under him, he wasn't playing fair, he was still fully dressed. I gasped feeling him bite down on my neck, arching my back. This wasn't fair in the least, he was being so fucking teasing.

"Shinji please." He chuckled at my tone of voice, lightly breathing on my neck.

"Nani Kaori?" he asked, sounding teasing. I felt my breath catch in my throat when he planted a light kiss on my neck, I was tired of him playing around like this.

"S-stop…teasing me." I pleaded, gasping a little. "You're not…playing fair."

He chuckled again, moving away from me. I took a slow breath, pushing myself up with my palms. I felt my cheeks go warm when he threw his top in the floor, his pants quickly following the shirt. He smirked seeing the blush on my face and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling my body against his. I smiled slightly, roughly pressing my lips against his. He moaned into the kiss, rubbing his tongue against mine, and lightly ran his hands up my back. I brushed my fingertips down his chest, moving my free hand into his hair again. He broke the kiss, kissing down the side of my face before he reached my neck. I gasped quietly at all the love bites he was placing on my neck, leaning my head back in pleasure. Could it be possible that this time would be better than the first…maybe, I was an open minded person. I groaned softly, tugging at his hair harder than I probably should have. He hissed at the pain, pinning my body back against the mattress. I looked up into his eyes, panting hard, I was feeling _extremely _aroused.

"Now love, yer gonna hafta behave better than that. I can't have my hair ripped out." he stated, I instantly nodded.

"Gomen." I apologized, planting a kiss on his neck. "You're just so irresistible Taichou." He chuckled at that, groaning when I ran my tongue up his collarbone.

"Kaori." he gasped, I smiled a little.

I lightly bit down, teasing the flesh with my teeth before biting hard. There it was, a metallic taste on my tongue, and a groan of pleasure filling my ears. He must've really loved his sex with pain, and I knew exactly what would make him even _more_ aroused. I slid an arm around his neck and moved my legs around his waist, slightly moving my hips against his. He groaned again, louder than the first time, and hastily unclipped my bra. Now he must've been impatient, served the jerk right for teasing me like that for a good amount of the time that I'd been in here. He kissed me hard, not even bothering to touch me like I wanted him to, and unlocked my legs from his waist. What was he-then my panties were off. Yeah…he was definitely impatient.

* * *

_**The pendulum swings forward. **_

_**The story rewinding backwards to the past will pause for an instant, so that we may take a look back into the future. **_

_**The decisions made during the present, will greatly affect future events.**_

* * *

"What the fuck?"

I let a sigh pass through my parted lips and continued to stare at my brother with a blank expression on my face. Why was he overreacting about this so much? It wasn't like I was unwilling or something.

"Rose, get over it." I said boredly, leaning my back against the counter.

His eyes narrowed into a menacing glare, but I forced myself to look bored with him. My eyes flicked to Shinji, he looked rather intimidated. He hated when Rose interrupted stuff like this, especially since he'd get pissed and want to rip Shinji's face off. Rose needed to get over it though, I could have sex with whoever I wanted. I wasn't a little girl anymore or even a teenager for that matter. I was a grown woman, and Rose needed to learn to accept that.

"I'm not a little girl anymore." I stated, giving my brother an emotionless stare. "You can't tell me what to do Rose." That might've not been the best thing to say.

"Otoribashi Chizuka Kaori."

I cringed a bit, Rose must've been _extremely_ pissed off with that comment. I hated when he used my full name in _that _tone of voice. Then again, that wasn't my full name anymore. Since Shinji and I were "illegally" married, I had his last name. I glanced at Shinji, and he gave me a look that said "don't you dare." He must've had an idea about what I was thinking.

"Actually." He cringed back, he knew what I was going to say. I looked at Rose and smiled. "It's actually Hirako Chizuka Kaori." Rose's eye twitched slightly, he looked pissed.

"Nani?" he asked slowly. My smile widened and I scooted over to Shinji, putting my arms around his waist. I leaned my head on his chest and said with a sweet tone

"Shinji wants me to legally marry him." I could just feel Shinji's jaw drop at that statement, and I watched Rose's eyes narrow.

"You want to marry my Imouto?" he inquired, I had a feeling Shinji grimaced at the question. I knew for a fact that he didn't want Rose to know just yet, but it was the only way to keep us out of trouble.

"Ano…yeah." Shinji admitted, his arm went around my waist.

I giggled when he placed his other hand behind my head, his fingers lightly running through my hair. I nuzzled my cheek against his chest and giggled feeling his lips press against the top of my head. This was perfect, Rose wouldn't suspect the well hidden lie. Yeah, I loved Shinji. But getting married was a little drastic, at least getting married with the war about to happen. Maybe in a few more years we could get married, I'd like to marry him, we'd been together for many upon many years. For now though, I was pretty sure I'd be fine just being married unofficially. I was sure Shinji would agree with me on that, he hadn't even gotten me an engagement ring.

"I love her Rose…I wanna marry her." Shinji said, sounding serious. I watched Rose's jaw drop, he looked rather shocked.

"Nani?" he shouted, I giggled in amusement. My poor Oni-chan.

"Aw. Did you think I'd never be married or something Rose?" I asked sweetly, Rose continued giving the both of us a blank stare.

He must've been rather shocked, hopefully this distraction would keep Shinji and myself out of trouble for a while about the whole "walking in on us when we were all touchy feely and stuff." Rose would be too wrapped up with thinking about Shinji wanting to marry me, rather than being pissed off about the _almost_ sex on the kitchen table. I looked at Rose as innocently as I could before leaning up and gently kissing Shinji's cheek. He chuckled, running his fingers through my hair again. Rose coughed and said

"Kaori." I looked away from Shinji's face, finding Rose's eyes. "I need to talk to Shinji…alone." I pouted, not wanting to leave my future husband alone with my brother. I didn't want him injured…or dead.

"Demo Rose-" I whined, his glare shut me up.

"Go Kaori." he ordered, I bowed my head in defeat.

"Hai Oni-chan." I mumbled. I looked up towards Shinji and kissed his cheek again. I looked over at Rose blankly, how was I supposed to leave if I couldn't walk? "Ano…Oni-chan…I sorta can't walk." Rose narrowed his eyes a bit, yelling

"Kensei!" I wrinkled my nose a bit, god Rose didn't sound like he was in a good mood. Kensei walked into the dining room seconds later, not looking too happy.

"Nani Rose?" Kensei asked, sounding rather grumpy.

"Would you mind taking Kaori to the den?" Rose asked, Kensei sighed.

"Fine."

I pouted a bit and kissed Shinji cheek one last time before being scooped up into Kensei's strong arms. Kensei head out of the room, carrying me. This wasn't good, this wasn't good in the least. What was Rose going to say to Shinji? I didn't have any idea what my brother was planning, but it couldn't have been good. Rose had been quite pissed off, now he was shocked about the whole marrying thing; I didn't have any clue what was going through his head. I really didn't want Shinji's face all beaten up or anything, no more sex for the day after all. I scowled in annoyance, my head bent low as Kensei placed me on the couch.

"Nani Kaori-chan? Is something wrong?" Mashiro asked, sounding slightly concerned. I sighed, watching Kensi take a seat between Mashiro and myself on the couch.

"Oni-chan's being stupid again, nothing new." I replied boredly, moving my attention to the television. Love chuckled over by Lisa and said

"Maybe it's because you both were attempting to have-" My head jerked from the television to Love.

"Shut it Love." I snapped, interrupting him. Lisa rolled her eyes, shaking her head to herself.

"You guys didn't." she said, not wanting to believe it. I giggled a little, amused with her un-approving tone, and shook my head.

"It would've happened, Rose just walked in at the wrong time." I said nonchalantly, not liking that Rose had interrupted something that would've been amazing with a capital A.

"We eat on that table, ya know?!" Hiyori screamed, looking disgusted. I shrugged, giving her an innocent look. I knew she wouldn't buy it though, she never did.

"Gomen Hiyori, couldn't help it. He's just so yummy." Lisa snorted behind her manga, turning a page. She didn't sound like she found that true, he was though. Shinji was incredibly yummy, Lisa was just in denial.

"Whatever you say Kaori." Lisa mumbled.

I giggled quietly, and Hiyori made a gagging face along with the noise. I rolled my eyes at her, not understanding why everyone thought sex on the kitchen table was gross, and chewed on my lower lip in thought. I let a sigh pass through my lips and turned my attention to Kensei. I smiled a little seeing Mashiro cuddling close to him, her head on his chest, and my smile widened when Kensei put his arm around her waist. I loved seeing these little intimate moments with them, it was rather rare that they showed how much they cared about each other infront of the rest of us, but it was quite a treat when they did. I wrinkled my nose, not wanting to interrupt their moment, and turned my attention to Hachigen.

"I'm hungry Hachi." I whined, he nodded.

"What would you like me to get for you Kaori-chan?" he asked politely, I smiled sweetly.

"Shinji was making me food before Oni-chan got all angry, will you bring it to me?" I asked of him, he nodded again.

"Alright Kaori-chan, did he make you tea or anything?" I shook my head, watching Hachigen stand up from his chair. "I'll be sure to make you some tea then." I giggled a bit, happy that I was going to get the food I wanted, as well as tea. Hachigen always made the best tea in this place, he had a talent for it, I was sure of it.

"Oh and Hachi." He looked at me over his shoulder, and I kept a blank expression on my face. "Will ya go see what they're talking about?"

He sighed, not looking like he enjoyed that I was forcing him to play secret agent, but he still nodded. He walked back towards the kitchen and turned on his heel, looking back at me. Hachigen said

"Is something going on?" I nodded, chewing on my lower lip again.

"Hai, Oni-chan's up to something. I don't know what though so I'd really appreciate it if I knew what was going on." Hachigen nodded and went into the kitchen without a second thought.

"You know Kaori..." I looked over at Love, wondering what he was going to say. "If they kicked you out, it means they don't want you knowing."

I wrinkled my nose, pouting a bit. Of course Love said something like that, he was Rose's closest friend so he sided with Rose rather than me. That jerk, he even did that back in Soul Society. I licked my lips, taking a slow breath, and said

"I have to know though, if Shinji's going to get killed then I need to order a casket and flowers and such." Hiyori chuckled next to me, apparently liking the sound of that idea.

"What about injured?" Lisa asked, sounding just as amused. I hmm'd for a second before saying

"I'd need to know what hospital to take him to so he can get treated, the costs of letting him stay in a room…and if we're aloud to have sex in a hospital bed."

Everyone burst into laughter at that one, even Kensei. That was a real surprise because he normally never laughed at anything like that, apparently being close to Mashiro was having a bit of an affect on him. I giggled quietly to myself, happy that I'd managed to get _everyone _to laugh for once, and Kensei shoved me a bit.

"You're such a perv Kaori." he said, chuckling a little.

I stuck my tongue out at him childishly, completely disagreeing. I wasn't like everyone else here (besides a few people), I didn't read Lisa's porno books, I just _did _what was in the porno books.

"Nu uh." I argued, twirling a strand of my hair around a finger. "I don't read Lisa's books like the rest of you." Lisa narrowed her eyes behind her glasses, not liking what I was insinuating.

"Kaori." she warned, I smiled sweetly.

"Hai Lisa?" I cooed, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What are you trying to say?" she asked, lowering her manga. This was going to be good, very good indeed. Fuck, my ankle was still screwed up. No getting physical then, fuck...again.

"Nothing Lisa." I sang, an evil glint in my eye. I shrugged a little, resting my elbows on the back of the couch, and blew some air in the direction of my bangs. "Just that you're a perv."

"I am _not _a pervert." Lisa screamed, oh this was going to be _really _good.

"Oh?" I questioned, pursing my lips a little. "How so? You read pornography after all."

"I have a healthy interest is all." Lisa raged, I raised an eyebrow.

"Uh huh…a healthy interest. Reading two a day, I think that's a little _overly_ curious if you ask me." I said, bating her. "Wouldn't you agree Lisa?"

She let a soft growl pass through her lips, this was getting really good indeed. I could hear everyone around us chuckling quietly, they were loving this. Her snarl turned into a smirk, and I bit down on my lower lip…waiting. She was up to something. She made a humph noise, picking her manga back up, and said

"Well I suppose you could have a point there Kaori." I raised an eyebrow, ok what was she up to? "Demo, at least I'm not a sex addict." My jaw dropped, everyone else burst into laughter. I narrowed my eyes into a menacing glare and said

"At least I'm hot enough to get all I want."

Then everyone shut up, I covered my mouth; that was a bad thing to say. Lisa blinked, moving her eyes down to her manga. Damn me and not thinking before I said anything. I always knew that my mouth would wind up hurting someone's feelings, and of course it wound up being Lisa's. God, I was such a bitch. I lowered my eyes, extremely angry with myself before pushing myself to my feet. I shouldn't have been walking, but I needed to apologize to Lisa. I hopped to her side, dropping next to her, and hugged her around the shoulders.

"Gomen Lisa, I didn't mean to…you know I don't think before I speak. I know I shouldn't have even went there, gomen nasai." I whispered, she nodded into my shoulder.

"It's fine Kaori, leaving him like that though…you know." I nodded, understanding who she was talking about, and smiled a little.

"You can have Shinji for a night if you want." I said with a teasing tone. She made a disgusted face, pulling out of the hug, and made a gagging noise.

"Ew, no way. You can keep him." she shouted, I laughed.

"You're sure?" I pressed, still sounding teasing. "He's an animal in-"

"Kaori don't even go there." Hiyori interrupted, shouting a little. I laughed again and went back to my seat on the couch next to Kensei.

"What were they talking about?" Mashiro asked Kensei, poking his cheek. Kensei rolled his eyes, sighing a little.

"Nothing Mashiro." he mumbled, she wrinkled her nose in annoyance.

"Tell me Kensei." she pried, he shook his head. Ok, that wasn't a really smart thing for him to do. "Waahaa, Kensei's a-"

Everyone's jaw dropped when Kensei leaned in and kissed Mashiro, right on the mouth. Damn, we'd never seen them kiss before. Hiyori covered her mouth, snorting a little in surprise. Love shook his head in amusement, continuing with reading Lisa's manga over her shoulder. Lisa rolled her eyes a little, turning a page of the manga. Me, I giggled a little bit, and went back to watching the news. They were so cute together, at least I thought so; I was pretty sure everyone else thought so too. I looked over hearing the door to the kitchen swing open, in walked Hachigen. I smiled a little when he handed over the food Shinji had made for me and dug into it without a second thought.

"Would you like me to heal your ankle the rest of the way Kaori-chan?" he asked, I nodded in agreement.

"Hai, that'd be really nice. I'm tired of having to be carried around." I told him, taking a sip of the tea. He nodded and bent down, working on fixing my ankle. I watched him for a minute or so before taking another bite of my food and said "So, spill. What were they talking about Hachi?" He finished up my ankle and stood, shaking his head with a smile. I tilted my head to the side, a little confused. "Nani Hachi?"

"Gomen Kaori-chan, can't tell you." My jaw dropped, he wasn't going to tell me?

"Nande?" I asked, feeling extremely nosy. Hachigen only smiled, walking a little way away from me.

"It's a secret Kaori-chan." he told me with an amused tone. I wrinkled my nose a bit, now I _really _wanted to know.

"You said you'd tell me though." I whined, he shook his head.

"No, I told you I'd listen to what they were talking about. I never said I'd tell you." he corrected, I pouted a bit.

"Is it driving you crazy yet Kaori?" Love teased, I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Shut your fucking mouth Love." I snapped, munching on my food afterwards. Love rolled his eyes, making a point to ignore me. "Is Shinji alive though, no injuries?" I asked Hachigen, hoping he'd tell me at least that.

He nodded in agreement, I let out a slow breath of relief. I sat there silently for the rest of the time, eating my food with so many different questions running through my head. Something was going on in there, but what could it possibly be? If Shinji wasn't dead yet or even injured for that matter, something big _had_ to be going on in there. They weren't making any noise, you could barely tell they were in there since they were being so quiet. They had to be discussing something rather important, but the real question was _what _they were discussing. I had a feeling I was the center of their conversation, but what could they _still_ be talking about? It'd been at least twenty minutes, I had a feeling it might be something along the lines of Rose threatening Shinji…again. I didn't understand why he had to pull the whole 'if you hurt my Imouto' speech after Shinji and I being together for a good century. I was sure Shinji had memorized it down to the very last detail, perhaps even Rose's facial expressions. What was Rose's deal, it wasn't like Shinji would ever hurt me. He loved me, he'd never want to hurt me in a million years; he'd told me so himself at least a couple hundred times.

What _could_ they be talking about it there?

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**Author's Note: Okayz, there you go. Hmmm, something seems to be going on in the modern world that we don't know about. What is Rose talking to Shinji about? Does it have to do with Kaori? Well DUH! What else would they be talking about? Umm...but what is it that Hachi won't tell Kaori? Hmm, something seems to be going on...something very interesting...what could it be? Take a wild guess, they'll make my day =] Alrighty FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER! **

**Oh and a couple other things I feel the need to mention. Someone asked me how close we were to the Hollowification process, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure since I haven't made it there yet. I believe it will be somewhere around Chapter Twenty Five so that should keep you all motivated to keeping reading if you wanna know how Kaori is involved in the Hollowification process and such. Oh and one more thing I feel the need to mention, one of my reviewers (I won't say the name) mentioned how Kaori is pretty conceited and always mentioning how awesome she is, pretty, etc. Allow me to explain why she's so conceited at times, I based Kaori's personality off myself. I am a pretty conceited person more than half the time, therefore, Kaori is conceited since I based her off myself. Hope it doesn't bother you that she is but I'm not changing her personality in the middle of this story, that'd just be confusing. Also, I'm not taking this review as an insult or flame. It's pretty sweet that you pay enough attention to the story to recognize how conceited she is. Good job and I hope you understand why she's so conceited now...and I hope you don't think I'm being a smartass about it because that's not the case, I'm just giving an explanation to ease up your confusion or whatever. Sooo...now that that's all over with, hope you enjoyed the chapter =]**

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_CHAPTER SEVENTEEN PREVIEW_

_"Are you alright Kaori?" Lisa asked, sounding slightly concerned; I shrugged at the question._

_"I can beat him up fer ya when he gets back if ya want me to." Hiyori offered, I shook my head._

_"No…it's fine." I mumbled, Mashiro put her arm back around my shoulders comfortingly._

_"You need to tell us what he did, get it off your mind." she advised, I sighed quietly. "What's he done to upset you."_


	21. Chapter Seventeen: Anger Issues

"What do you mean you're going out today?" I asked angrily, Shinji chuckled in amusement at my tone of voice.

I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning the majority of my weight on my right side. I narrowed my olive green eyes into a glare, not happy in the least with my so called "husband." He thought he could go out _without _me? Ok, that sounded extremely possessive. Let me rephrase that statement. He thought he could go out without telling me where he was going, what the fuck? He grimaced a little at the look I was giving him and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Like I just said, I'm goin' out today with the guys." Shinji repeated.

I could hear all the men whispering to each other over by the exit, but I didn't really give a shit what they were saying. I had a feeling they were all rather impatient right about now, wanting to get out of the warehouse to go do…whatever they were planning on going out to do. Shinji wasn't leaving here though until he told me where the fuck he was going.

"Where are you going?" I inquired, chewing on my lower lip in attempt to occupy my thoughts; he chuckled again.

"Gomen love, that's a secret." he teased, I kicked him straight in the knee.

"Itai!" he whined, dropping to the floor.

I watched him rub his knee, muttering curses under his breath, and I tapped my foot impatiently against the floor. He deserved the pain, and there was no way in hell I was apologizing to him. He needed to stop whining about something he _deserved _and tell me where the fuck he was going.

"What was that fer Kai-chan?" he complained, looking up at me.

I pursed my lips as he got to his feet, thinking about the utterly useless question that had just spewed from his mouth. "What was that for?" He should've known what the hell that was for. He was keeping secrets from me, and I hated when Shinji kept secrets from me. It pissed me off to a good degree, and he knew it did. So why was he insisting on not telling me what was going on in that mischievous little head of his?

"You should know what it's for boge." I shouted, Hiyori chuckled some distance away from us.

"This is gonna be good." she mumbled.

I knew both Lisa and Mashiro were who she was talking to. _All _the boys were going out today so that left all us girls in the warehouse by ourselves. Shinji gave me a deadpan stare, looking utterly serious, and said

"Honestly Kaori, I have no clue what's goin' on in yer head." I narrowed my eyes again, glaring darkly at him.

"Hirako Shinji you asshole, you better fucking tell me." I yelled angrily. I grabbed the collar of his shirt, getting right up in his face, and glared harder at him.

"Oh yeah, this is gonna be real good." Lisa whispered, agreeing with Hiyori's earlier statement.

Shinji let out a short sigh, looking as though he didn't understand where all my anger was coming from. He should've known though, especially since he'd been the one to start it all. Last night had been when it started, right after Rose had finished talking with Shinji "privately." Since my ankle had gotten all fixed up, I'd been able to go to the second part of the day's training. Shinji and I normally partnered up during training, it'd been that way for years. I was extremely surprised when he said he wanted to partner with Hiyori for the day, but I hadn't gotten jealous or anything. I was the jealous type, I'll admit it, but I knew nothing was _ever _going to happen between Hiyori and Shinji. I'd allowed it without a fight and just worked with Lisa for the day. Things hadn't really seemed all weird or so I thought. After training was over with, we all ate dinner together like normal, but Shinji didn't talk to me all that much. That's when I started getting a little nervous, had Rose said something to upset Shinji with me? After dinner, I'd went to my room without even stopping by Shinji's room. I figured if Shinji wanted to talk to me, he'd come to me like he always had…he hadn't. I'd stayed up for over half the night, waiting for him to come to my room, nothing. _That's _when I'd gotten worried. This morning we didn't have training, and Shinji skipped breakfast by sleeping in.

Now it was around lunch time, and Shinji had just randomly come up to me and said he was going to spend the day with the boys. Normally that wouldn't have bothered me, even if he didn't tell me where he was going or how long he'd be gone. The only reason I was so angry and flustered right now was because of the tension between the both of us. He hadn't ever acted this way towards me…_never_. Now he was just deciding he wanted to get out of the warehouse and not tell me where he was going, who did he think he was? Ok, yeah. He was Hirako Shinji, former Taichou of the Fifth Division in Soul Society but that didn't mean a damn thing now. We were all Visoreds, we weren't taichous and fukutaichous anymore. He had no fucking right to do this to me, that complete and total worthless piece of trash. I was pissed off, I didn't think I'd ever been so angry in my entire life. Shinji wasn't going anywhere.

"What's with that look huh?" I demanded, still sounding extremely angry. "Don't know why I'm so angry, do you?"

'If he values his tongue, he'll answer wisely.'

"No Kaori, I really don't know." Shinji said bluntly, my jaw dropped.

He didn't know why I was angry…what the hell? Normally he could read me like a book, he knew me better than anyone, and he didn't know why I was upset with him? What the fuck was going on? Did he just not care anymore or something? We'd been together for a good century, he should've been able to _always _know when I was angry or upset…even when I hid it from everyone. Right now though, my anger had disappeared, I felt extremely hurt. I'd only ever felt this hurt once in my entire life, and that time actually hadn't been over Shinji. I released his collar, taking a small step back, and stared at him with my jaw still dropped.

"Excuse me?" I breathed, he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Honestly Kaori, I don't know what I did to piss ya off so much." he said nonchalantly. "You seemed fine with me yesterday, what'd I do?"

I felt my eyes widen, he didn't even know what he'd done…what the hell was going on here? Hadn't he noticed how little we talked yesterday? I could feel my throat going dry, my breathing seemed to slow down, and my heart was beginning to ache a little. I couldn't believe he didn't care enough to notice that he'd hurt my feelings…what was his deal?

"Am I allowed ta go yet?" he asked me, raising an eyebrow.

I blinked dumbly, nodding a little; I just needed him away from me right now. He grinned at me, moving a little closer to kiss me goodbye. I backed away from him and did something I'd never done in my whole life to anyone, I slapped him right across the face. It was such a girly thing to do, I normally punched people in the face. I couldn't even force my own limbs to do what I wanted them to, I slapped him like a fucking girly girl. I wasn't a girly girl when it came to defending myself or my pride, I was tough as nails, but right now…I felt so vulnerable. He blinked, looking at me confused.

"Don't even _try _to act like things are ok with us Hirako Shinji." I yelled, narrowing my eyes into an acidic glare. "You know what you did, but if you're not going to even apologize to the girl you've been with for years then _fuck you_."

I turned on my heel and strode out of the room, wiping at my eyes. I couldn't believe he was making me cry, this was the second time in the world of the living I'd ever cried. He was such a bastard, that good for nothing jerk. I trudged up the stairs, trying to keep myself more angry than upset and stomped down the hallway. I walked into my room, slamming the door shut behind me and flopped down on my bed. I grabbed my pillow, burying my face in it and cried softly. I coughed a few times, a result of me trying to hold in the tears and even sneezed a little. I wiped at my eyes, crying even harder and heard a quiet knock at my door.

"If it's Shinji then go away." I choked, pulling half my face out of the pillow.

The door opened, in walked Mashiro. I swallowed hard, moving my face back into my pillow and heard the door shut. I listened to Mashiro's light footsteps cross my floor, and I felt the bed shift a little when she sat next to me. She placed her hand on my back, rubbing my back comfortingly and said

"Shinji's left with the boys, if you want to come downstairs you can."

I almost smiled at how grownup she was being, Mashiro knew how to be an adult when the occasion called for it. She was very understanding of people's feelings, and she knew how to comfort people in the correct way. Everyone needed to be comforted in a different way, everyone wasn't the same when it came to their feelings and emotions. I felt rather bad for Mashiro because she'd never comforted me before, I knew she had her work cut out for her. It'd been hard for Kyoraku to keep my spirits up back in Soul Society, I had a feeling Mashiro would have a harder time than him.

"We're all here for you Kaori-chan." Mashiro told me, I moved half my face out of the pillow. "All us girls, Lisa-chan and Hiyori-chan and myself, are here for you." I actually _did_ smile at that.

"Hiyori too huh?" I joked sullenly, Mashiro smiled softly.

"Hai, even Hiyori-chan." Mashiro confirmed.

I nodded a little, forcing myself to move out of the bed, and Mashiro handed me her handkerchief. I nodded in thanks, wiping at my eyes and nose and walked across the room to the door with Mashiro. We both head down the hallway together in silence, descending down the stairs into the den. Lisa and Hiyori looked away from talking to each other, Lisa smiled a little at me. I plopped down in the floor with the two of them beside Mashiro, rubbing my arm in the attempt to occupy my thoughts. She moved her arms around me, hugging me tightly, and I moved my face into her shoulder. We all sat there quietly for a minute or two before I finally managed to pull myself together. I moved out of the hug, wiping at my eyes again with the handkerchief.

"Are you alright Kaori?" Lisa asked, sounding slightly concerned; I shrugged at the question.

"I can beat him up fer ya when he gets back if ya want me to." Hiyori offered, I shook my head.

"No…it's fine." I mumbled, Mashiro put her arm back around my shoulders comfortingly.

"You need to tell us what he did, get it off your mind." she advised, I sighed quietly. "What's he done to upset you." I blinked, hating how simple it was. It was going to sound stupid to them, I knew it was.

"He avoided me all of yesterday after Oni-chan talked to him, I thought he might've just been thinking about everything they talked about. I figured he'd come talk to me last night about everything…but he didn't. He hasn't actually _talked _to me since yesterday…why's he avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?" That's when I lost it, I started crying again. Mashiro's arm around my shoulders tightened, and Lisa shook her head.

"That asshole, what's his problem?" she muttered, asking a rhetorical question out loud.

Hiyori looked especially angry right now, she always did get angry with Shinji. But right now, she looked like she was ready to murder him a million times over. I didn't think I'd ever seen her so angry with him.

"What'd I do?" I repeated, absolutely loathing how I couldn't control my own feelings right now.

"Ya didn't do nuthin Kaori." Hiyori told me, sounding serious. "Whatever his problem is, he'll get over it. He'll come crawlin' back to ya."

I smiled a little, loving how Hiyori was implying that I was the alpha in my relationship with Shinji. It wasn't exactly true but hey. Right now it was sounding _extremely _appealing, and the idea was making me feel a little better.

"Arigato Hiyori." I mumbled, she nodded a little.

"Want some ice cream?" she offered, knowing how much I loved ice cream. I nodded in agreement, happy she was offering to get me ice cream, and said

"Could you get me the whole carton of vanilla and bring me the chocolate syrup?" She nodded in confirmation, hopping up from the floor and head into the kitchen to get my sweets. I looked back to Mashiro, smiling when she gave me another hug.

"Maybe he's just going through something, and he's distancing you to keep you safe." she guessed, I shrugged.

I hoped Shinji would tell me when he was going through something, we'd been together for a long while, we should've been able to trust each other with everything. I trusted Shinji with my life, but did he not trust me…? I smiled a little when Hiyori dropped the ice cream in my lap, handing me a tablespoon rather than a teaspoon, and the bottle of chocolate syrup.

"Arigato."

I ripped the top off the carton, drowning the vanilla ice cream in chocolate, and dug my spoon into the ice cream. I shoved a spoonful in my mouth, ignoring how cold it felt. It was numbing the hurt I was feeling so I wasn't planning on complaining. I ate another bite, hissing when Lisa grabbing the syrup. Why was she taking the syrup from me? That bitch. My jaw dropped when she tipped her head back, squirting some of the syrup in her mouth. She laughed a little at my face once she'd swallowed it all, and that even managed to make me laugh. Why the hell had I even hissed at her, and her drinking the syrup right out of the bottle…what the fuck? She never did something like that.

"What the fuck Kaori? What's with the hissing?" Lisa asked, still laughing. I shrugged, having no clue and giggled quietly.

"Gomen Lisa." I apologized, licking the syrup off my spoon. "I have no idea where that came from." Hiyori rolled her eyes at me, not understanding my randomness in the least. "Well, what was with you drinking the syrup out of the bottle? Aren't you afraid of getting my germs?" Lisa rolled her eyes, giggling quietly.

"Of course I am Kaori." she teased, I wrinkled my nose. "I just had a huge chocolate craving."

I laughed, how the hell did that make sense? She was afraid of getting my cooties and germs and shit, but she was still willing to listen to her chocolate craving and drink it out of the bottle? Lisa was crazy…but totally awesome.

"Turn on the tv, let's see if anything good's on." Hiyori suggested, Lisa nodded in agreement.

I watched Lisa turn the television on, searching through the channels for something good to watch. It seemed like television could occupy my thoughts for right now, it could be rather distracting when it wanted to be…depending on what was on. Lisa finally stopped on channel thirty two, it was an all day movies channel. I was curious about what was going to be on today, oh yeah. Extremely hot guy on the screen, with no shirt, yum. Mashiro giggled next to me. Ok wait, Mashiro didn't check guys out…right? She was with Kensei after all. She said

"Do you know what would be fun?" We all turned our attention to her, wondering what was going on in that green head of her's.

"Nani?" Lisa asked cautiously, as if she was expecting an outburst of some sort. Mashiro smiled sweetly, looking more innocent than usual. Ok, something was definitely going on in her head. What was she planning?

"Girl day!" Mashiro exclaimed, I fell over in surprise. Girl day…that meant talking about boys, makeup, other girly things. Oh shit! I couldn't wait to hear Hiyori complain about-

"What the fuckin' hell?!" Hiyori shouted, pointing at Mashiro. "There's no fuckin' way I'm doing any of that girly shit."

-the girl day.

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_**The pendulum swings back. **_

_**The story barreling towards the future will stop for an instant, so that we may peer into the past. **_

_**Though it was only the briefest of moments, its effects were wide-spread and long-lasting.**_

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"So wait….you dumped her?" I repeated.

Shinji nodded, a wide grin on his face. I felt my cheeks go warm in embarrassment, he was just so fucking attractive. I didn't understand how he could smile at me, and it would embarrass me to the point that I would blush. How did that make any sense at all? How can smiling at someone make another person blush? Then again…thinking naughty things might've been the reason I got all red faced. I blinked, shaking my head of the thoughts and twirled a strand of hair around my finger.

"What'd she say?" I inquired, he chuckled.

"Someone's a lil nosy today." he teased, I stuck my tongue out childishly.

"So what?" I asked nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders. "Today's been boring as fuck, I need _something _to entertain me until I can go back to my room for the night." Shinji rolled his eyes, leaning across my desk and stopped a few inches short of my face.

"Ya have five minutes Kaori." he stated, I wrinkled my nose.

"Big deal, that's still forever long." I complained, he chuckled.

He reached up, moving my bangs out of my eyes, and leaned closer to my face. I felt blood rushing to my cheeks again, my breath caught in my throat, my heart pounding against my ribcage. I felt my eyes slip shut, and I leaned closer to kiss him. No one was here, Youta had already gone back to his room, we could _definitely_ get away with kissing. I opened my eyes when a good ten seconds passed without any lip contact, my eyes narrowing into a glare seeing the smirk on Shinji's face. That jerk, he could've at least kissed me, fucking tease.

"What the hell?" I exclaimed, he chuckled in amusement.

"Nani Kai-chan?" I wrinkled my nose, not pleased in the least about how he was acting.

"You're a frickin' tease." I stated, feeling a little frustrated. "You could've kissed me." Shinji smirked a little, pressing his lips against my forehead and said

"Here's not safe my little love, you should know that." I pouted at the fact that he was right, but I didn't care. So what if it wasn't safe, it's not like it'd stopped us before. "Just wait a lil longer."

I bit down on my lower lip in annoyance and leaned back in my chair, hating that I couldn't leave for two more minutes. This was taking forever, I was dying of kiss deprivation. I let a sigh pass through my lips and scratched my cheek boredly. I glanced up at Shinji through my lashes, giggling at the wanting look on his face.

"Like what you see?" I teased, he chuckled in agreement.

"A good number of things." he answered, sounding incredibly sexy. I felt my cheeks go hot, thinking about all the things I wanted him to do to me and pulled my hair up into a high messy bun. "So you wanna know about Kazuma, right?"

I nodded eagerly, I couldn't wait to hear about her reaction to Shinji dumping her. He actually hadn't immediately dumped her when she got back, we'd decided it would be too suspicious. So I'd had to wait a good two weeks before we figured he could get away with dumping her without anything horrid happening. I'd continued to torture her by assigning her "awful" assignments. As soon as she arrived back, I assigned her a pretty lousy mission, something to do with rats I was pretty sure. She was pissed off about it too, which made it all the better...for me at least. Now I was so excited, I wanted to know every single detail about how the dumping went.

"What happened, spill your guts." I demanded, Shinji rolled his eyes.

"Alright already, jeez. Yer startin' to get on my nerves." he groaned, I hit him upside the face with a folder. "Itai! What the hell was that fer?" I wrinkled my nose, tossing the folder back on my desk.

"What do you think, baka." I rolled my eyes seeing the face he was making at me, that jerk. "Just tell me before I decide I don't wanna have sex." I warned, he quickly nodded in agreement.

"Ok ok. Don't do anything drastic love." he asked of me, I grinned.

"Then tell me what the fuck happened." He let out a short sigh before saying

"Ok, she came over like normal. Complainin' about you, believe it or not." he told me, I chuckled quietly in amusement. "Somethin' about ya makin' her clean the floors of the training room." I chuckled again, nodding. Something else I'd learnt from Youta's spying mission, Kazuma _loathed _cleaning. "She was pretty damn angry, I'd never seen her so flustered before. She started insultin' ya, pissed me off. Then, I told her we were through."

My jaw dropped, she started insulting me infront of Shinji? Was she _that _retarded or something? She knew Shinji and I were best friends *cough* and secret lovers *cough* so why would she do something so stupid as to insult me infront of him? I bet he'd gotten extremely pissed off with her, did I care? Fuck no!

"Really, she cry?" I asked curiously, secretly hoping she had. Shinji nodded in agreement, I smirked in amusement.

"I didn't feel sorry fer her." he admitted. I giggled, happy that he'd managed to make her cry, and poked his cheek.

"You're awesome, that's almost as good as me choking her." I reminisced, Shinji gave me a confused look. Huh, I guess I hadn't told him about the time I almost choked the life out of Kazuma.

"Ya choked her, fer what?" he inquired, I grinned evilly.

"Well, she was pissed off about an assignment I gave her." I told him, sounding amused. "She was yappin about how she was of noble blood, and she didn't have to do anything and blah blah blah." Shinji raised an eyebrow, looking like he was enjoying my story. "Then I got all pissed off because she was acting like she was _so _much more superior than me, I grabbed her by her throat and tried to strangle her. Well..." I stopped at the look he was giving me, giggling quietly to myself. "I didn't so much try to strangle her, just give her a reality check. I don't think it worked all that well so I'm thinking of just…"

I stopped hearing a light knock at my door, looking around Shinji. Who would be here at this hour, the day was officially over with. He nodded to me, moving over to my bookcase, looking over the books for something to "read." I took a slow breath and looked away from Shinji, focusing my gaze on the door.

"Come in." Low and behold, the little whore herself. Satomi looked surprised that Shinji was here, but she avoided looking at him. "Kazuma-san, did you need something?" I asked sweetly.

She narrowed her eyes slightly but forced herself to look civil, she nodded. She walked across the room, avoiding looking at Shinji again and handed me a folder. I blinked, taking the folder from her and flipped it open. I scanned the letter, forcing myself to keep a serious expression. 'A resignation letter…perfect.'

"You're resigning Kazuma-san?" I stated, sounding shocked. She nodded, I almost raised an eyebrow at the sour look on her face. "Nande?" She flipped her hair over her shoulder flamboyantly and said with a snobbish tone

"If you must know, my Otou-san is attempting to find a noble for me to marry. He believes that there's no point for me to be in the Gotei 13 anymore since I'll have a noble husband to support me." I narrowed my eyes at her tone of voice, she needed to be a little more respectful, I was _still _her taichou until I accepted the resignation.

"Oh really?" I teased, placing the folder on the desk infront of me. "Well, what if I choose _not _to accept your resignation?" She narrowed her eyes, not even caring that another Taichou was in the room to see how disrespectful she was acting. "Unless you have a medical reason, all resignations are my decision. I can deny it if I wish to do so."

"You hate me though, so why keep me around?" she asked, oh I was ready for that question. I chuckled quietly, pushing my side-bangs out of my eyes.

"Because I enjoy torturing you." I answered honestly, her jaw locked angrily. I raised an eyebrow at her, ignoring the fact that she was glaring at me. "Demo…I suppose you're not as fun anymore. You always have the same reactions, you always get angry, then obey the order." I let out a sigh of disappointment, making a pouty face. "That's no fun at all, it's so boring. I suppose I can find someone else to toy with easily, fine. Here you go." I signed my signature to the letter and handed it over to her. "Get out, and don't come back." Satomi nodded, looking pleased.

"I wouldn't dream of it." She turned on her heel and strut across the office, sliding the door open. She exited the room, shutting the door, but I knew she heard me say

"See ya slut."

I chuckled darkly hearing her grumble but she didn't come back, my day had just become perfect. I felt the smirk on my lips turn into a real smile when I felt Shinji's hands rubbing my shoulders, ok scratch that. _Now _the day was perfect. I leaned my head back against my seat, smiling up at Shinji. He chuckled quietly, pressing his lips against my forehead.

"Yer awful." I rolled my eyes, playing with a few strands of his hair that were in my face.

"You like it." I stated, he chuckled again. He nodded, brushing his lips against mine.

"Yeah." he agreed. I smiled slightly but moved away from him, I was ready to finish this in my room. He grumbled, not looking pleased with me, and I shoved him a little.

"Come off it." I ordered, not amused with his mental complaining. "Let's just go."

He rolled his eyes, moving his arm around my shoulders, and we walked out of my office together. I blinked at how dark it was, chewing on my lower lip in thought. I wondered if anyone would notice us walking to my room together. Then again, he'd walked me to my room before and people had seen. It wasn't a big deal, they knew we were "friends" so it shouldn't seem all suspicious. Plus, it was pretty damn dark. I was sure no one would see us, especially since no one was really out right now. I poked Shinji's side, nodding towards the hallway. He chuckled, nodding in agreement. We walked down the hallway silently, me eventually getting around to moving his arm off my shoulders, and into my taichou hallway. We walked to my room, making sure no one was following us and silently entered. I smiled when Shinji pressed his lips against mine as soon as the door shut, he wasn't wasting any time. I was so happy to finally get this kiss after waiting all day, I'd been driving myself crazy thinking about it. I moved my lips against his, moaning when his tongue rubbed against mine. I was starting to feel lightheaded, and we hadn't even been kissing that long at all. I pulled out of the kiss and shoved him on the bed. He rolled his eyes, making a face at me when I walked away.

"What're ya doin'?" he complained, I giggled quietly.

"I want you to listen to this music from the world of the living, Youta-kun brought it back for me." I told him, he raised an eyebrow.

"Youta-kun?" he repeated, I nodded.

"He's a great fukutaichou…and he's like the little brother I never had. I didn't tell you he started calling me Nee-san, did I?" I inquired, looking at him over my shoulder. He shook his head, a wide grin plastered on his face.

"Nee-san." he teased, I rolled my eyes. "Damn Kaori, that kid must really love ya." I giggled quietly, flipping him off as I went back to looking through the records.

"He's a good kid, really sweet." I said softly.

I smiled, pulling out the record I'd been looking for. I hopped over to my record player, ignoring the fact that Shinji was laughing at me, and set the record up. I felt my smile widen when _Ave Maria _by Franz Schubert sang through the room and looked at Shinji over my shoulder, waiting for his approval. He had quite a serious expression on his face, his eyes closed, concentrating on the music. I gracefully glided across the room to his side and laid on the bed next to him, waiting. He finally opened his eyes, meeting my olive green ones and smiled at me.

"It's great Kaori, beautiful." he told me. I smiled, happy that he thought so as well. We both appreciated music, it was just the way we'd both always been. "Next time, yer listenin' to jazz though. You'll like it." I rolled my eyes, nodding a little.

"Alright, bring jazz over next time. You think so much of that music, and I have no clue what it sounds like." I complained, he chucked at my frustration.

"Gomen love." he apologized, kissing my cheek.

I nodded, playing with a few strands of his hair. I was beginning to _really_ want sex right now but talking was just as nice…I guessed. I looked up at him through my lashes, my cheeks going warm at the look he was giving me. I was guessing that he wanted the sex too, he needed to just make a move if he wanted it _that _badly. Then again, playing dumb could be just as fun, it'd get him all angry and flustered and then the sex would be even more amazing.

"Nani Shin-kun?" I teased, running my finger down his neck. "What's with that look?" He grinned, pushing my body under his, I gave him a 'confused' look. "Uhh…what're you doing?" Shinji rolled his eyes, it was starting.

"Kaori, yer beautiful." I smiled a little, happy that he thought that.

"Arigato doll." I said sweetly, he rolled his eyes towards the ceiling again.

I knew what he wanted me to do, but I wasn't going to ruin my fun. I played with his hair again, occupying my time while he slowly grew frustrated with me. I raised an eyebrow hearing him growl in annoyance, oh it was slowly getting to him.

"Nani Shinji, is something wrong?" I asked innocently, he narrowed his eyes.

"Yer such a tease." he grumbled. I looked at him blankly, tilting my head to the side confused.

"I don't understand." I lied, he chuckled to himself. I looked at him, _actually _feeling confused with why he wasn't getting all angry at me.

"You will." he promised, I bit down on my lower lip.

Apparently my game had just ended…and I lost.

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**Author's Note: Hmmm, looks like some pretty crazy stuff is going on with Kaori and Shinji. Does it have to do with Rose and Shinji's conversation? Well DUH! But what did they talk about exactly? Well, guess you'll hafta be patient cuz I'm not spoiling anything. You'll know next chapter so review and you can find out. FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER!**

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_CHAPTER EIGHTEEN PREVIEW_

_I pouted angrily, trying to keep myself from going ballistic and tried to ignore the light footsteps I heard across the roof. _

_'Shinji, what does he want? He better be here to apologize…or else.' I lowered my eyes, playing with a few strands of my hair and felt him sit down next to me. Apparently he wasn't concerned that I was pissed off with him, he wasn't leaving any space between us. I wrinkled my nose, making a point to ignore him and narrowed my eyes when he placed his arm around my waist._

_I turned my head, ready to yell in his face and gasped when his lips collided with mine. That jerk, how could he have the nerve to kiss me after he hurt my feelings like he had? I glared, biting down on his tongue rather hard, and he jerked back from me._

_"Nani Kaori-chan, what the hell was the for?" he asked angrily, I glared darkly at him._

_"You know what it was for Hirako Shinji so stop playing dumb." I shouted, feeling extremely upset. "You actually have the nerve to act like things are okay when they're fucking not, you started all this, and I expect an apology."_

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**Tori: Aww thank you so much for the compliment. I personally love Mashiro, I think she's hilarious. I hoped I managed to capture her personality correctly, I think I pretty much have. Hehe, I find her to be tons of fun to write. And to answer your question, yes. I have most of the story planned out, there's a few minors things that I haven't gotten around to deciding on but I'm working on it. All sorts of exciting stuff that you'll be gasping in surprise or squealing in happiness. Haha, hope you enjoyed the chapter =]**


	22. Chapter Eighteen: A Present Day Surprise

I sighed boredly, looking around my office with a blank expression on my face. I had absolutely nothing to do, and it was driving me bonkers. With Kazuma resigning and all, I had no one to torture anymore. True I _did_ have her friends, but they weren't fun to play with at all. They did the exact same thing she did, get pissed then obey the order. That was so boring, people needed to have a little more individuality and stop being a bunch of clones. Everyone else in my division was alright; they were respectful, they didn't insult me behind my back, and they followed orders without question. I didn't have anyone to torture in my division anymore, I didn't want to be a bitch to the _loyal _members of my division...that'd just be mean. I chewed on my lower lip in thought, trying to come up with something to do for the time being. Then again…it was a holiday. No one was really at work today except the taichous and a few fukutaichous, Youta had even taken the day off to spend time with his girlfriend. Maybe I could convince our little group into getting together for a drink or something…that sounded perfect right about now.

I smiled a little at the thought of our group hanging out for the first time in ages and bounced up from my seat. I didn't understand why I'd even come to the office today when I knew there wouldn't be anything to do in here. Sure I'd gotten caught up on my paperwork now, but there wouldn't be anymore new paperwork for about a week since it was a holiday. Eh, better caught up than behind I guessed. I crossed the office, pulling my long hair up into a high but loose ponytail as I walked. I blew at my bangs before pushing them off to the side and slid open the door to my office. I stepped out, sliding the door closed and head down the empty hallway. Who was closest to my division again, who to ask first? Well, obviously the ninth division was closest to the tenth but I needed to invite Hiyori along as well. So I guessed I'd go to the twelfth division, then I'd have to come back to get to Kensei and Mashiro.

I sighed quietly to myself, crossing Seireitei with a bored expression on my face, my thoughts focused on Shinji. I wondered if we could maybe go on a little bit of a vacation trip to the world of the living during this nice holiday, a few days in the world of the living was sure to be more exciting than being in Soul Society. It would be especially awesome because we could walk around holding hands and all that other stuff that couples did. We could get a little hotel room together for a few days, and we wouldn't have to worry about our relationship being found out. We could even go find some cool new music, I actually needed a new record player. The clothes in the world of the living were rather adorable as well, and I knew for a fact they were a ton cheaper than the ones here. I needed some new clothes, I was in the mood to do a bit of shopping. Oh! And the food in the world of the living was so appetizing, I thought it honestly tasted better than Soul Society food...that might've just been my opinion though.

I entered the twelfth division, looking around the hallways. Would Hiyori be with Urahara right now or would she be off sulking? I bit down on my lower lip in thought, wondering where she would be and finally just decided to go ask Urahara. I slid the door of his office open to find the poor blonde taichou with a bloody lip and swollen jaw. Hiyori was standing over him, fist raised, ready to attack again. I giggled quietly, saying

"Gosh Hiyori, that must've been a real good punch." Hiyori looked over her shoulder, grinning at me.

"Ooi Kaori." she greeted, I looked around her at Urahara.

"Are you alright Kisuke?" I inquired, he smiled sheepishly.

"I'm okay." he replied, wiping at his lip. "Hiyori just got a little angry." Hiyori's eyes narrowed and she turned back to her taichou, fist pulled back by her head.

"What'd ya say hage?" she barked, Urahara continued smiling his same goofy smile.

"Nothing Hiyori, nothing." he laughed, she grumbled annoyed.

"Anyway, which doin' here Kaori?" Hiyori asked, turning to face me. I cracked my knuckles in attempt to keep myself from being too bored and said sweetly

"I was wondering if you wanna go get a drink tonight with me, I'm trying to get the gang together." Hiyori nodded, looking like she liked the idea of getting our little band of misfits together.

"Inviting Shinji?" she asked, grinning evilly. I nodded, knowing she was behind on her abuse of him. "Alright, I'll be there. The usual place?" I nodded, chewing on my lower lip.

"I'll get us our room." I told her, she nodded.

At the little restraunt we always went to for our drinking, we had our own private little room, and the people who worked there always knew to expect the whole group of us if they just saw one of us. We used to visit it _that _often back in our Academy days. We hadn't been there for a good six months, but they'd never forget our smiling faces.

"Kay Kaori, I'll see ya at seven then."

I nodded in agreement, waved goodbye to Urahara and exited the office. I sighed quietly, hating that I was going to have to walk all the way back towards my division and head off in the direction of the ninth division. I sighed again, one down, six to go. Goodness, getting the entire gang together was such a workout. It was a good amount of exercise since I had to walk so much, all over fucking Seireitei. I hated walking, it was such a waste of my time. If I could just fly or something then I wouldn't have to whine and complain about how much I hated walking. Ugh, I felt so out of shape. Maybe I needed to make myself a schedule and get back to a training regiment of some sort. Then again, training every day would be too troublesome for me to deal with. Fighting one on one with another taichou would be a good month worth of training, it was decided. I was going to go head to head with a taichou…but who? I felt a grin stretch onto my face, Shinji. 'He'd better be ready to get his ass handed to him because I'll pown his scrawny ass.'

I came to a halt infront of the door to Kensei's office, tilting my head to the side hearing a loud crash. What the hell was going on in there? It sounded like a bunch of books got knocked down or maybe a chair fell over. Was Kensei getting all violent and trying to kick someone's ass? Wait…oh gosh. I never did knock on anyone's office door, but I didn't want to walk in on something…inappropriate. Inappropriate you ask, well…let's just say my thoughts went dirty when I heard a soft moan come from someone. Damn, was Kensei getting it on in there or something? I knocked on the door, rather loudly and heard something else get knocked over. I giggled quietly, waiting a few seconds before Kensei's voice said

"Come in."

I slid the door open, tilting my head to the side seeing Mashiro doing some filing. Wait a second…Kensei and Mashiro? No way, there was no way…right? Kensei was always annoyed with her every minute of every day, and Mashiro was rarely ever serious around anyone, let alone Kensei. I moved my eyes away from Mashiro, trying to convince myself that nothing dirty was going on here and smiled at Kensei.

"Hiya Kensei." I greeted, he gave me one of his normal "tough guy" looks.

"Konnichiwa Kaori." he replied, I rocked back on forth on my heels. "How are you today?"

"Alright, bored out of my mind." I said honestly, Kensei nodded.

"Mashiro and I were just finishing up the last of our paperwork." he told me, I felt my cheeks go hot a little. There was no way that Kensei and Mashiro were together, that would be like...Armageddon.

"Yeah, I finished mine up a little bit ago." I stated, scratching the back of my head. Mashiro looked at me over her shoulder, smiling a little.

"Your hair looks pretty again Kaori-chan." she commented, I smiled at her.

"Arigato Mashiro." I pulled my long ponytail over my shoulder, playing with a few strands of the hair. "Anyway, I was wondering if you both were free tonight." I said, finally remembering the reason I'd come here.

"I am." Mashiro said enthusiastically, Kensei nodded in agreement.

"Nande?" he asked skeptically, I giggled.

"I'm trying to get the whole gang together." I answered, smiling a little. "We all haven't hung out in forever, and I thought it would be fun if we went out drinking like we did when we went to the Academy together." Kensei nodded again, sighing quietly.

"Very well Kaori." he agreed, I mentally applauded myself for being able to convince him into it.

"You in too Mashiro?" I asked, she nodded.

"Yep." she said, sounding all bubbly. I nodded, mentally punching the air in victory. I was happy that I had three people on board for tonight, now I just had four to go.

"Sweet, I'll see you guys at the usual place, usual time." I told them, Kensei nodded.

"Okay, bye bye Kaori-chan." Mashiro said, waving at me.

I giggled at her energy and exited the office, sliding the door shut behind me. I bit down on my lower lip, walking off in the direction of the eighth division. As I walked, I tried to convince myself that Mashiro and Kensei weren't seeing each other, but I couldn't help but think they were. I mean…_moaning_? Come on, something dirty _had _to be going on in the ninth division. Then again…who was I to be poking my nose in other people's business? I had a secret, as well as _illegal_, relationship going on with another Taichou. Who was I to be going, "OMG! Kensei and Mashiro are sleeping together," when it would be rather hypocritical of me? Who knew where the world was going to now a days, it was so…wacko. I couldn't believe Kensei and Mashiro of all people, I guess that showed how good people could be at lying about things. For all I knew, Kyoraku and Lisa could be secretly together, and Love could be gay...god that would be weird. I shuddered at the thought, entering Kyoraku's office. He moved his head off the desk, smiling at me sleepily.

"Konnichiwa Kaori-chan." he greeted, yawning. I rolled my eyes at my former Taichou, smiling a little.

"Shouldn't you be finishing your paperwork?" I teased, raising an eyebrow at him. "Lisa won't be happy if you don't." Kyoraku sighed, shaking his head to himself.

"You're always one to get me into trouble." he grumbled, I giggled quietly.

"Only because I care Taichou." I told him, he lowered his hat a little.

I bit down on my lower lip, trying to stop myself from giggling again. Poor Kyoraku, he was so tired. It was his own damn fault though for getting so behind on his paperwork, he needed to be a little more responsible for once. It wasn't like Lisa would do his paperwork for him forever, right now proved that to be true. I turned when I felt Lisa's reiatsu, smiling when I saw her standing in the doorway.

"Kaori." I smiled again, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Ooi Lisa, I was wondering where you'd disappeared off to." I said cheerfully. Lisa raised an eyebrow at my tone, adjusting her glasses a little.

"What do you have planned?" she asked me, I scoffed.

"Nothing, I just wanted to know if you wanna go get a drink with me and the rest of the gang." I said boredly, she made an 'oh' face.

"Sounds awesome." she muttered to herself. "I'm in, usual place?" I nodded, pushing my bangs out of my eyes. "Seven?" I nodded again. "Okay, I'll be there."

"Great, I'll see you tonight then." I told her, I looked over my shoulder at Kyoraku. "See ya Taichou, get your paperwork done." He narrowed his eyes at the word 'paperwork,' not looking very pleased.

"Of course Kaori-chan." he mumbled, sounding rather reluctant. I giggled when Lisa strode into the room and grabbed a folder, hitting Kyoraku upside the head with it.

"You're going to do it, stop complaining." she ordered, he made a whiny face.

"Nande Lisa-chan? You're awful." he moaned, she glared daggers at him.

I exited the office, giggling when I heard Lisa screaming about how he needed to grow up and stop whining about every little thing. Gracious, she didn't sound very pleased with him. I chuckled quietly to myself, heading in the direction of the seventh division. Four people down, just three more. This was becoming quite a hassle, I was slowly getting sick of walking around the much. Luckily I didn't have to walk _too_ far to get to another person in our group, but walking itself was just annoying me. It was just took too much energy, but I was a lazy ass so of course I thought something as miniscule as walking was troublesome. I blew at my bangs, tilting my head up towards the clouds as I walked. I wondered what Shinji was doing right now, was he working on his paperwork like he was supposed to? He was dreadfully behind and needed to get caught up, but I knew that he was more than likely daydreaming…or forcing Aizen to do it. I chuckled a bit at the thought, poor Aizen, Shinji was horrible to the kid.

I stepped inside Love's office, smiling when I saw Rose was there as well. Now I wouldn't have to go all the way to the third division, and Shinji and I could get a little more alone time together. This was perfect, thank you Rose for being in Love's office. I smiled a little, walking further into the room, both men had yet to recognize my presence.

"Just give me the damn manga." Rose ordered, sounding annoyed.

"Demo, I'm not finished with it." Love complained, not sounding very happy.

"You've had it for a week, and you're _still _not finished?" Rose groaned, Love let a sigh pass through his lips.

"I told you I'd let you have it when I finished." Love reminded him, Rose narrowed his eyes.

"You always say that, and I always end up having to pry it from your hands." Love sighed again, not seeming very pleased. He looked around Rose hearing my footsteps, saying with a sarcastic tone

"Kaori, what an unpleasant surprise." I rolled my eyes, snapping

"Shut it Love." Rose turned, smiling at me.

"Imouto." I giggled, bouncing to his side and tightly hugged him around the waist. "Shouldn't you be catching yourself up on your paperwork?" he inquired, I shook my head.

"Nope, already caught up." I told him, he nodded approvingly.

"Good." I almost made a face at him but managed to resist. He was so bossy sometimes, he acted like he was responsible for me all the time, it could be so annoying. "What are you doing here anyway?" he asked me, I moved out of the hug.

"Well, I was bored and thought that today would be an awesome day to go out drinking." I explained, Love gave me a confused look. I rolled my eyes at him, continuing. "We all haven't hung out together in ages, and I thought I'd be fun to get the whole group together. Go to our place, have a couple drinks and whatnot." Rose nodded, Love said

"Seven?" I nodded, mentally checking Love on the list of people going. "Sweet, I'll be there." he told me, I looked up at my brother.

"You too, right Rose?" I asked of him, Rose nodded.

"Very well Kaori, I'll come too." I checked Rose on the list of people going as well, one person left. "You're not overdoing it tonight though." Rose said, I pouted.

"Nande Oni-chan?" I whined, sounding like a four year old. "It's a holiday, we don't have anything to do here in Seireitei." Rose rolled his eyes, ruffling my hair affectionately.

"It's the Oni-chan thing." he explained, I wrinkled my nose.

"Well the 'Oni-chan' thing will have to deal with it then, cause I'm fucking drinking till I can't walk in a straight line." I stated, I glared at Love when he chuckled. "Nani?"

"You can't walk in a straight line to begin with Kaori." he teased, I threw some book at him.

"Shaddup boge!" I shouted, smirking when it nailed him right in the forehead. "Ha! Point!" Rose rolled his eyes at me, and I quickly hugged him. "See ya at seven." I ran out of the room, giggling when I heard Love shout

"Damn it Kaori, get the fuck back here."

I giggled again, bolting towards the fifth division at shunpo speed. This was perfect, now Love was pissed off at me. Did I care? Hell no, I loved pissing my brother's best friend off, it was so fucking amusing. I skid to a stop infront of Shinji's office, tripping over my own feet when I tried to walk in while I skid and landed face first on the floor.

"Itai!" I whined, rubbing my forehead. I looked up, Shinji was laughing right at me. Aizen was staring at me, looking rather confused and shook his head to himself.

"What the hell Kaori?" Shinji asked, still laughing at me. I pouted, pushing myself off the floor and hopped across the office to his desk.

"Love was trying to kill me, I had to escape." I answered with an annoyed tone, he calmed his laugh down to a chuckle.

"I see." he mused, I plopped down on his desk. He looked around me at Aizen, not looking happy that he was in here with us. "Is that the last of the paperwork Sousuke?" I looked over my shoulder, inwardly grinning when Aizen nodded.

"Hai Taichou." he replied, I looked back to see Shinji roll his eyes.

"Then get the hell outa here." he barked, I had a feeling Aizen was bowing.

"Hai Hirako-Taichou." he said, I heard the door slide shut a few seconds later.

I moved my eyes up from the floor, blushing at how close our lips were. He better kiss me…or else. He chuckled seeing the look I was giving him and pressed his lips against mine. I smiled into the kiss, placing my hand on the back of his neck and parted his lips with my tongue. He groaned when I ran my tongue along the roof of his mouth, grabbing onto my waist and pulled me down into his lap. I giggled, breaking the kiss and looked up into his eyes.

"That was one hell of a kiss, what's the occasion?" Shinji inquired, smirking. I rolled my eyes, my cheeks still pink and played with a strand of his hair.

"We're going drinking tonight." I stated, he looked at me curiously. "The whole gang, I got everyone together." He nodded, kissing my cheek.

"Sounds awesome love, I wanted to talk to ya 'bout somethin.'" I nodded, wondering what was up. "Ya know we have this holiday fer another week, and I was thinkin maybe we could go to the world of the living. Stay fer a while, just you and me." he suggested, the smirk on his face widening. I grinned at what he was talking about, I'd been thinking the exact same thing earlier.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing." I told him, he chuckled. "Can we leave tomorrow?" He nodded, lightly brushing my cheek with his thumb.

"I already talked ta Old Yama 'bout it, he says it's fine with him if we go." he said, I tilted my head confused. What excuse had he given Yamamoto to let us go together?

"What'd you say exactly?" I asked curiously, Shinji rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.

"Nothin,' just that we were wantin ta go visit the world of the living." he replied, I chewed on my lower lip in thought. "Kaori-chan." I looked away from the floor, finding Shinji's eyes again. "Don't worry about it, Old Yama wasn't suspicious in the least. He just told me ta make sure we were back on time."

I nodded, happy that we hadn't been found out. I moaned softly feeling Shinji press his lips against my neck, don't tell me he was going to turn me on in here when we couldn't finish anything.

"Shinji." I groaned when he bit down, lightly kissing his cheek. "Not here…can't you just control yourself for once?" I asked quietly, trying to ignore all the sensations I was feeling. He chuckled against my flesh, nibbling lightly on my skin.

"Not really Kai-chan." he teased, I rolled my eyes.

Of course he didn't know how to control himself…maybe that's what made him so sexy.

* * *

_**The pendulum swings forward. **_

_**The story rewinding backwards to the past will pause for an instant, so that we may take a look back into the future. **_

_**The decisions made during the present, will greatly affect future events.**_

* * *

I chuckled quietly, ignoring the disgusted look on Hiyori's face. The poor dear, she must've really not been enjoying this. Hiyori's eyes widened in shock, and she snapped her head to Lisa.

"Turn it off damn it!" she raged, Lisa shook her head.

I swear, it looked like she might've started drooling any second now, Lisa really loved her pornography films. I glanced over at Mashiro, she wasn't even paying attention to the television, she was busy reading some book. She was so confusing at times. I guessed that's why I loved Mashiro as much as I did, she was such a complex person. Hiyori was incredibly disgusted by what was happening on the television, why was she even sitting here if she didn't want to watch it? Me, I wasn't really paying too much attention to the sex tape. I was too busy poking fun at Hiyori, and I was thinking about how pissed off at Shinji I was.

"Fuckin' turn it off Lisa." Hiyori shouted, Lisa glared at her out of the corner of her eye.

"It's at the best part though." she complained, holding onto the remote. "Guy sex is great." I nodded in agreement, here here. Guys making out was hot, but guys having sex was just orgasmic.

"That's fuckin' disgusting." Hiyori screeched, I rolled my eyes.

"Hiyori, if you don't wanna watch it then leave. We all know your virgin eyes can't take it." I teased, she narrowed her eyes at me.

"What'd you say Kaori?" she yelled, I smirked in amusement.

"Nothing Hiyori, nothing at all." I sang, moving up from my seat on the couch. "I'm gonna go get more ice cream, be right back." I skipped across the room, skidding to a stop when Mashiro said

"Kaori-chan, will you bring me the hello kitty gummies?" I nodded in agreement, promising that I'd bring the whole box for her.

"As long as you share." I told her, she giggled.

"Okay but share the ice cream with me." she asked of me, I nodded again.

"Alrighties, I'll bring a spoon for you."

I walked into the kitchen, going through the cabinets until I found Mashiro's box of gummies. I smiled a little, placing the box on the counter and went through the freezer. We'd better have more ice cream or I'd strangle someone if there wasn't any left. I grinned, only one more carton of vanilla and it was all mine...and Mashiro's. I grabbed the box, closing the freezer and grabbed another spoon from our utensil drawer. I grabbed Mashiro's gummies, hopping across the room, exiting through the door. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw that Shinji and the boys were back, this had just ruined my mood. Lisa had even turned off the male porn, this sucked. I grumbled, not feeling very pleased about this and walked across the room to Mashiro's side.

"Ooi Kai-chan." Shinji greeted, I glared darkly at him. I wasn't speaking to him until he apologized to me, that good for nothing skinny ass jerk. I turned to Mashiro, handing her the box of gummies as well as the ice cream.

"I'm gonna head to my room, see ya Mashiro."

She looked a little disappointed that I was leaving, but she didn't say anything about it. She knew I was upset over Shinji, and she understood that I couldn't be in the same room as him right now.

"See you at dinner Kaori-chan."

She went through her box of gummies, smiling to herself. I smiled a little, turning on my heel and head up the stairs of the warehouse. After I'd made it up the stairs, I decided I'd rather sit on the roof instead of my room. I went down the hallway to the window and carefully exited, jumping up onto the roof seconds later. I plopped down on the roof, staring up at the night sky. I couldn't believe Shinji had stayed out all day with the boys, but what I couldn't believe more was that he hadn't even called to apologize to me. That asshole and he said he loved me. This was major points against him, he was fucking himself over big time. I pouted angrily, trying to keep myself from going ballistic and tried to ignore the light footsteps I heard across the roof. 'Shinji, what does he want? He better be here to apologize…or else.' I lowered my eyes, playing with a few strands of my hair and felt him sit down next to me. Apparently he wasn't concerned that I was pissed off with him, he wasn't leaving any space between us. I wrinkled my nose, making a point to ignore him and narrowed my eyes when he placed his arm around my waist.

I turned my head, ready to yell in his face and gasped when his lips collided with mine. That jerk, how could he have the nerve to kiss me after he hurt my feelings like he had? I glared, biting down on his tongue rather hard, and he jerked back from me.

"Nani Kaori-chan, what the hell was the for?" he asked angrily, I glared darkly at him.

"You know what it was for Hirako Shinji so stop playing dumb." I shouted, feeling extremely upset. "You actually have the nerve to act like things are okay when they're fucking not, you started all this, and I expect an apology. If I don't get one then fuck you because I don't give a shit what-"

"Kaori shut the fuck up." Shinji barked, interrupting me.

I'd never heard him sound so angry with me, never in my life, not even when….Why was he acting this way towards me? What had I done, he was the one that started all this. I whimpered quietly, attempting to scoot away from him, but his arm stayed locked around my waist. I lowered my eyes sadly, hating the way he was acting. Why was he hurting me like this? I'd thought he loved me.

"Just go away." I asked of him, wiping at my eyes with the back of my hand.

"Are you crying?" he inquired. I lowered my head, not wanting him to see my tears. I flinched back when his fingers hooked under my chin, tilting my face up. He sighed quietly, thumbing away my tears. "Kaori…we need ta talk."

Holy shit, this couldn't have been good. We needed to talk…about what? He wasn't…leaving me…was he? He couldn't after everything we'd been through, after...that.

"About what?" I asked timidly, what the hell…? He smiled at me, but it wasn't his normal smile in the least; it looked sad. This couldn't have been good. "Shinji…"

"Kaori, I care alot about you." he told me, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. "You mean so much to me, more than anyone in the world." I could feel my breathing growing ragged. "You're very special to me, I don't know what I would've done all these years without you." My palms felt all sweaty. "And this past century or so we've been together has been an amazing time." I could feel myself becoming lightheaded. "That's why I needed to ask you this…" I felt my eyes widen, ask me what? If I wanted him to leave me…what was he playing at? If he was going to dump me then he didn't need to give me some sappy speech. "Kaori, will you marry me?"

I felt my jaw drop, what the hell? I stared at the ring sitting in the little white box, slightly astounded. He...wanted to marry me? I looked up at Shinji, finding his eyes. That grin was on his face again, that good for nothing, low down, dirty rotten, asshole. He'd worried me and gotten me all upset for nothing.

"Shinji." I whispered, he continued grinning at me.

"Well, do ya wanna marry me?" he inquired, I punched him in the face.

"You jerk, how could you upset me like that? Then ask me to marry you, what the fuckin hell? I was crying over you all day long to find out you were just gonna ask me to marry you? What's wrong with your head, seriously Shinji?" I shouted, he chuckled quietly.

"I planned it all, I decided last night that I wanted ta propose to ya. We all went out today ta find the perfect ring for ya." he explained, my jaw dropped again. "Everyone knew about it, I let'm know last night after ya went ta bed. I hated upsettin ya Kaori, but I didn't want ya to ruin my fun by getting all suspicious." I felt tears roll down my cheeks, I was so happy but I was still a little pissed at him.

"_Never,_ do that to me again." I demanded, he nodded in agreement.

"Fine sweetheart." he agreed. "Now, will ya marry me or not?" I immediately nodded, smiling at him.

"Of course." I told him.

He grinned, looking extremely pleased with himself and slid the ring on my finger. I smiled softly, staring down at my new engagement ring. It was gorgeous, absolutely beautiful. The band was silver and the ring itself had three stones. The middle stone was a ruby, cut to where it looked like a rose, and the other two were just green emeralds, cut like they were the leaves on the side of the rose. It was rather sparkly and looked as though it was extremely expensive, this was the most amazing present I'd ever received from him. I smiled, feeling a few more tears of happiness roll down my cheeks and glanced up through my bangs into the eyes of the man I loved.

"Shinji…it's beautiful." I managed to whisper, his grin turned into a soft smile. "I…I'm sorry for getting so angry I-"

"Kaori, don't apologize." he interrupted, gently taking my face in his hands. I sniffed, feeling so amazingly happy, and my smile widened when he said "I love you so much Kaori."

"I love you too."

He grinned, leaning forward so that his lips brushed teasingly against mine. I almost glared at that, but I was too happy to glare; he wanted me to marry him. I closed the space between us, pressing my lips against his, smiling into the kiss. Shinji moved one hand from my face to around my waist and held my body close to his, gently moving his lips against mine. I couldn't believe this, I was engaged…I had a fiancé. This was one of the happiest days of my life, and there was no way anything could ruin this moment.

I pulled back from Shinji when I heard a snap and saw a bright flash of light from behind my closed eyelids. I looked over, glaring at the whole family, what were they doing up here? Damn Love, what the fuck did he think he was doing taking a picture of us kissing?

"Can you kiss her again Shinji, I wanna make sure the picture turns out right." Love said with an obnoxious tone, grinning at me.

"Love, you better hand that fucking camera over." I yelled angrily, raising a fist threateningly.

"Gomenasai _Mrs. Hirako, _can't do that." he teased, I narrowed my eyes into a death glare.

"Go the fuck away, we're busy." I shouted, pulling Shinji into another kiss.

_SNAP!_

Fuck Love, he was going to die…as soon as I was finished kissing Shinji.

* * *

**Author's Note: Alrighty, sorry it took so long to post. I've told you guys twice now, I'll tell you again. New chapters won't be posted until there are at least FIVE reviews. It's your call, if you want a new one every week then make sure that I have five reviews for each chapter. Encourage your friends to read it and review. Okayz but besides my annoying rambling, here comes the preview. FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER!!!**

* * *

_CHAPTER NINETEEN PREVIEW_

_"We'll be fine my little love."_

_"I-I don't know." I stuttered when he placed a kiss below my ear._

_"Just relax." he purred, tossing my pants to the side. "Leave everything ta me."_

_"Shinji, I need to tell…"_

_I stopped when he placed another kiss on my neck, lightly biting down seconds later. His hands were all over my body, touching and caressing everything like he had so many times before. I didn't really understand why he was so fascinated by my body since he'd seen it plenty of times these past eight months but it was nice knowing that I was wanted by someone. He moved slightly down my neck to my collarbone, lightly kissing it before biting down. I gasped in pain and tugged at his hair, wanting him to keep going._

_"Please." I whined, he chuckled at the look on my face._

_"Since ya asked so nicely." he teased, I pouted my lips cutely._

_He chuckled again and pressed his lips against mine, moving his hands down my stomach. I bit down on his lower lip, moving my hands to the sash around his waist. I quickly untied the sash and tossed it to the side, still kissing him. I moved my hands to his top and began pulling at it so I could get it off, I was having a little trouble since my hands were shaking._

_"Kaori I was-WHAT THE HELL!" I gasped and pulled out of the kiss, looking towards the door to see…_

* * *

**Random Author thingy: So ummm, yeah. I have something that I'd like to let you all know about why I love this chapter so much. Well, I just finished writing it two days ago and I love that Kaori and Shinji are engaged now. It was my favorite part to write, my favorite part of the story so far. Well, just yesterday my boyfriend came over so we could have lunch together and...HE PROPOSED TO ME! So, now I'm engaged and I'm so freakin' happy. Ahaha, I just had to let you all know. Hehe, hope you enjoyed the chapter =]**


	23. Chapter Nineteen: Discovered

"So Kaori, are you and Shinji gonna do anything _special_ tonight?" Love inquired, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Shut the fuck up Love." I shouted, nailing him in the forehead with a spoon.

He groaned quietly, rubbing at the new red spot on his forehead. I could tell he was glaring at me from behind his sunglasses, but I honestly didn't give a shit. He needed to stop being such a jerk…and a pervert. Okay yeah, we probably would have sex tonight but we did that almost every night in the first place. Tonight was just a little more special than other nights since we were _officially _engaged now. I wrinkled my nose angrily and felt Shinji's arms wrap around my waist, gently pulling me to sit back down in his lap.

"Behave Kaori-chan." Shinji whispered in my ear.

I felt a shiver run up my spine at how sexy and husky his voice sounded, damn I felt _extremely _aroused. I bit down on the inside of my jaw, inwardly groaning when I felt him lightly kiss the area below my ear. I quickly turned to face him, pressing my lips against his without a smidge of hesitation. I didn't care if Rose was watching, he'd just have to deal with it. I was engaged now, and he was just going to have to get used to us kissing infront of the rest of them. We'd been civil over these many years, making sure not to do _too_ much kissing/making out infront of them. Now, they were just going to have to grow up and not let it bother them.

Let's see, what did my little ears hear? An "aww" from Mashiro, an annoyed groan from Kensei, a chuckle from Lisa, an "eww" from Hiyori, an approving "hmm" from Hachigen, a cat call from Love, and _of course_, a disapproving "hmph" from Rose. I felt Shinji smirk against my lips and he moved his lips against mine, making sure to control himself with Rose around. I pouted when he pulled out of the kiss, hating how he'd ruined it.

"Stop being mean." I whined, still pouting in his direction. He rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, running his fingertips through my hair. "You keep ruining all the good kisses, jerk." Shinji chuckled, lightly pressing his lips against my forehead.

"Gomenasai Kai-chan." he apologized, sounding teasing. I rolled my eyes when Mashiro suddenly said

"Oh this is wonderful. Kaori-chan, when can we go shopping for your wedding dress? Oh and your flowers, those will have to be beautiful and all sorts of different kinds. Ah! And we can't forget about a cake, four stories high or something. What flavor would you like? Or maybe you would want more than one flavor, does that sound about right?"

I felt my cheeks go hot at how enthusiastic she was being and buried my face in Shinji's dress shirt, not wanting to do any thinking yet about the wedding. I was fine with just being engaged for now, the wedding would have to wait until after the winter battle was fought and finished. Discussing something like this wasn't very important when it was sitting beside something like the fate of the world.

"Let's just talk about this another time." I mumbled, Shinji kissed my cheek.

"Come now Kaori, we need to make preparations." Hachigen pointed out, I moved my face out of Shinji's shirt.

"Not for a while, the winter battle's coming up." I reminded everyone, Lisa let out a sigh.

"Of course, you just _have _to be all serious and ruin the fun." she grumbled, I giggled quietly to myself.

I couldn't help it that I was thinking ahead of time, but I didn't want everyone to stay all angry with me when this was a rather important event. I guessed I could tell them _one _thing I wanted for my wedding, maybe that would keep them off my case for a little while.

"Actually." All eyes turned to me, I felt a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. "I was hoping…late January maybe." I muttered, Love chuckled.

"Self-conscious about it or something?" he joked, I glared darkly at him.

"Love." I warned, Rose rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.

"I'm just asking." he teased, I glared darkly at him.

"No you're not, you're just trying to piss me off…like usual." I snapped, Kensei smirked to himself in amusement.

"You normally get pissed off with everything people say to you Kaori." he reminded me, I turned my glare on him.

I was _slightly _surprised that Kensei was being a jerk to me now, but it wasn't _too _surprising. He would do this at random sometimes, not as often as he used to in Soul Society, but still…I didn't know _what _the fuck I was thinking. Kensei had officially just confused the shit out of me with his random jerk acting.

"Now that's a fucking lie." I growled, pushing myself up from Shinji's lap. "People purposely say things to piss me off, like Love. And for some god forsaken reason, you're doing it today too, what the hell's your damage?" Kensei rolled his eyes at my outburst, his smirk widening by a fraction.

"I just stated a fact Kaori, I don't understand why it upset you so much." he taunted, I narrowed my eyes.

"Why I outa-"

"Nande January?" Mashiro interrupted, trying to keep me from pounding her man's face in.

I turned my gaze to her, my anger lessening by a bit, and plopped back down in Shinji's lap. I leaned my back against his chest and hugged his arms that were placed back around my waist. I ignored everyone going back to talking amongst themselves and smiled a little at Mashiro.

"It normally snows around that time, you know how I am about snow." I told her, Lisa chuckled quietly to herself at something Love whispered to her. "And…well…that was the month."

Everyone stopped their chatter and turned their attention to me, I lowered my gaze self-consciously. Maybe, saying that hadn't been the best idea. Awkward moment at the table now, great. Goodness I really needed to learn to control the words that came out of my little…okay, _big _mouth. I needed to start making sure that once my brain processed a thought, my brain would also know which ones to keep locked in my head and which to speak. I smiled a little feeling Shinji's lips press against my hair, kissing the area above my ear.

"January sounds great darlin." he told me, I smiled a little.

I was happy Shinji wasn't upset with me for bringing it up, it normally hurt him when I did…and it hurt me the exact same way that it hurt him. I played with a strand of my hair, my smile widening sadly at the distant memory. Shinji rubbed my arm lovingly and I leaned against him, snuggling my cheek against his chest. I glanced up at him through my bangs to see him smiling at me, I giggled quietly.

"Shinji, what do you think _will _happen after the winter battle?" Mashiro asked, sounding grownup for the fifth time today.

I glanced over at her to see Kensei place his arm around her shoulders, pressing his lips into her hair. I guessed Kensei thought it was about time for him to show a little more affection towards Mashiro, he must've been worried that he would lose her during the battle. He more than likely wanted to spend as much time as he could, showing her that he cared for her. I felt Shinji shrug, I knew he felt a little bad that he couldn't answer the greenette's question.

"I don't know Mashiro." he said honestly, she nodded a little.

"Perhaps we'll be able to go back to Seireitei." she said hopefully, smiling a little. "The Soutaichou may welcome us back now that he knows the truth about Aizen."

"I doubt that." I mumbled in an annoyed tone of voice, Lisa rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, what could we do there? It's not like they'd give us our old positions back, they have new taichous and fukutaichous. All the spots are filled." she pointed out.

"Not necessarily."

We all looked over, holy shit. There stood Urahara and Yoruichi, how had they managed to get in without our knowing. We hadn't even been able to sense their reiatsu. It was more than likely because of the gigais Urahara had invented for us, they masked our reiatsu so that Soul Society wouldn't be able to detect us here in the world of the living. I guessed he and Yoruichi had one of a similar design for themselves.

"Kisuke." Hachigen acknowledged, he smiled widely.

"Ohayou! I hope you don't mind our stopping by." he greeted, Hiyori rolled her eyes.

"It's evening boge!" she shouted, his jaw dropped.

"Ah ha ha, whoopsy." he said, laughing nervously. Hiyori rolled her eyes at the blonde man and the pair walked forward, taking a seat at our large dinner table. "Goodness the food looks appetizing."

"Mashiro made it." I told him, running my finger down Shinji's tie.

"Take some if you're hungry." Mashiro offered, the purple haired woman smiled at her.

"Arigato."

"So what's going on? What'd you mean by all the positions aren't filled?" Kensei pressed, Urahara sighed quietly.

"They still have yet to appoint new taichous for the third, fifth, and ninth divisions." he replied, waving his fan in his face. "With Aizen's betrayal, three spots were left empty."

"So you mean…there's a chance we could get our spots back?" Mashiro pried, I snorted.

"Yeah right, I'm not allies with Soul Society. Fuck them, they can find new taichous on their own." I grumbled.

Shinji sighed quietly and pressed his lips into my hair, trying to calm me down. He knew how much mentions of Soul Society upset me, especially if it had to do with the Gotei 13. I knew there wasn't a chance in the world I would get my position back as Taichou of the Tenth Division, I secretly wanted my old position back though, I missed my old division. Hiyori nodded a little bit, folding her arms across her chest.

"That's right, they didn't wanna help us when we became Visoreds. Fuck 'em." she agreed, I grinned to myself in amusement. I knew I could always count on Hiyori to agree with me when it came to Soul Society, she despised them just as much as I did.

"Now now, no need to start an argument." Yoruichi laughed, waving her hand. I rolled my eyes to myself, Rose said

"Is there a particular reason why you've come here tonight Kisuke?" Urahara nodded, snapping his fan shut.

"The Bounts have been defeated, Ichigo and the others are returning some time tomorrow from Soul Society." he told us, Lisa opened up the book that had stayed on her lap for most of dinner.

She opened it up, leafing through the pages until she stopped, absorbing herself in the book. I knew she wasn't really interested in what Urahara had to say about the Bounts and Soul Society, just the mere mention of it always wound up hurting her. Especially since she had to leave _him_ behind, without even being able to say goodbye.

"So that means, we'll need ta get our plan in motion." Shinji sighed, Rose leaned his cheek into his hand.

"These children sure are something else, being able to defeat the Bounts like they did." he commented, Love shrugged.

"We'll see." he said simply, I grinned to myself.

"Ne ne, so does that mean they're dead or locked up somewhere?" Mashiro pried, Kensei rolled his eyes.

"Obviously dead, moron." he shouted. Kensei was getting himself strangled the next time I caught him alone in a hallway, here it came.

"Waahaa, Kensei's a meany." Mashiro whined, everyone groaned loudly.

"Honestly, you couldn't be polite about it." Rose grumbled, I smirked to myself and listened to Hachigen try to calm the green haired girl down.

She wasn't listening to a word he said, continuing her whining about how Kensei was always so mean to her and a stupid idiot. After a few _long _seconds worth of Mashiro's whining and bellyaching, I finally just said

"Do we have to go through this tonight of all nights? Tonight's supposed to be all about me and Shinji. Sheesh."

"Heh, and you were pissed at 'em earlier." Hiyori stated, I rolled my eyes towards the ceiling.

"Yeah because he was _intentionally _pissing me off." I countered, Shinji chuckled and placed a light kiss on my cheek.

"Is something special going on tonight or something?" Yoruichi inquired, I grinned and held up my left hand. Her jaw dropped at the sight of my ring and she studied it carefully, a huge grin came to her lips after a few minutes. "Finally, I've been wondering when he was planning on proposing to you." I rolled my eyes a bit, glaring darkly at Urahara when he started singing

"Here comes the bride, here comes the bride-"

"Oi konohage, shut yer god damn mouth." Hiyori interrupted, I smiled a bit.

I really could always count on Hiyori to _unintentionally _defend me.

* * *

_**The pendulum swings back. **_

_**The story barreling towards the future will stop for an instant, so that we may peer into the past. **_

_**Though it was only the briefest of moments, its effects were wide-spread and long-lasting.**_

* * *

"Wait…she's pregnant?" I questioned, Youta nodded in agreement.

My jaw dropped in surprise and I watched Youta play with the pen in his hand nervously. I couldn't believe this, Youta's _girlfriend _was actually pregnant now. Wow, this was the best news in the world. I didn't understand why Youta looked so upset about it though, this was something a person should be happy about.

"For how long?" I pried, he buried his face in his hands.

"She said about two months." he told me softly, I nodded a little. "Kaori I don't know what to do, I didn't expect this to happen. What am I supposed to do, I just, I-I-"

"Youta-kun." He stopped his rambling, turning his attention to me. I smiled sweetly at him, he didn't need to be so nervous about this, it was a good thing. "This is good, not bad. Sweetie, relax. I know you'll be an amazing father to that child, you don't need to worry yourself over it." He blinked and I watched a few stray tears slip down his cheeks, now I was feeling _extremely _bad. My fukutaichou was crying, had I said something to upset him? "Why're you crying?" I asked, feeling worried for the black haired boy.

"I-I'm so happy but I'm afraid." he admitted, I felt a soft smile form on my lips.

"Don't be afraid. It'll all be fine Youta-kun." I promised, he nodded a little. "Take the rest of the day off, go spend time with your girl."

"Demo Taichou-"

"Do it." I interrupted, the smile on my lips widening. "She needs you more than I do right now, there's only a few hours left here anyway. Go give her the support she needs, you need to tell her you want to keep the baby. Especially since you walked out on her like that."

"I was shocked." he argued, I giggled softly.

"I know, but you need to talk to her about this calmly. Now go on." I instructed, he smiled a little.

"Arigato Nee-san." I giggled softly and he jumped out of his seat, heading to the door. He slid it open and I said

"And Youta." He looked back at me and I smiled sweetly at him. "Congratulations." He grinned at me and nodded, bowing slightly in respect.

"Arigato Otoribashi-Taichou."

I nodded once, dismissing him from the room, and watched him slide the door shut as he exited. I sighed quietly and leaned back in my chair, all sorts of thoughts running through my head. Seireitei had gotten so crazy within the past eight months, so much stuff was going on lately that it was almost driving me to the brink of insanity. With Youta's girlfriend being pregnant now, well that was just something else to add to the list. Sure it was a good thing, it was an _extremely _good thing, but all kinds of crazy things had been happening to make that one good thing seem insignificant. Hollows rampaging all over the place, people acting up against Seireitei, just all sorts of crazy bullshit. It was all just so incredibly frustrating, I didn't know how much longer I'd be able to deal with the stress of this job and my secret relationship with Shinji.

Speaking of Shinji, things with him were going rather amazingly. We were so happy being together, I didn't think anything could ruin our relationship. There was just something about him that made me want to hold onto him forever and never have to give him up. I didn't think I ever would manage to make myself give him up either, I just cared that much for him that I would never trade this relationship with him. Even if Central Forty-six would be all like "You can have the position of Soutaichou if you stop seeing Shinji." My answer to that would be "Fuck no" because this relationship with Shinji was worth more than my life, I…I'd come to realize that I was actually in love with him. We hadn't got around to saying that to each other but hopefully it would be sometime soon, I couldn't wait for him to say those beautiful words to me.

I moved my eyes away from the ceiling and moved out of my seat, heading across the room to the door. I slid the door open, exiting the room, and slid it back shut. I stretched my arms above my head, walking down the hallway with a bored expression on my face as I did so. Urg, I was so frustrated with everything going on, especially all the glares and hateful looks I was receiving from the female members of my squad. I was still the same Kaori, I didn't understand why they thought I would want to show them up since I had long hair now. Yeah, my hair had grown down to where it hung halfway down my back. I didn't have to wear my extensions anymore, even though they were totally awesome. No one really even knew my hair had grown out, they just thought I was still wearing the extensions, people sure could be dense at times. I slid the door open to my room and stepped inside, quietly closing it behind me. I looked away from the door after slipping my shoes off my feet, a smile coming to my lips when I saw Shinji laying on my bed. He grinned when he saw me and motioned me closer. I rolled my eyes and crossed the room to my bed, laying next to him.

"What's up?" I questioned, his grin widened.

"Nuthin, just wanted to come see ya." he told me, I giggled softly.

"Aw, did ya miss me that much?" I teased, he chuckled and pressed his lips to my forehead.

"Ya have no idea Kai-chan." he mumbled, I moved my eyes up to stare into his grey ones.

"I think I might have some idea." I said before pressing my lips against his.

He smiled into the kiss and moved his arm around my body, molding his lips with mine. I moaned softly when he ran his tongue along the roof of my mouth, tangling my fingers through his hair. I felt him shift next to me and broke the kiss, he moved to straddling my waist, a huge ass grin on his face. I raised an eyebrow and pushed myself up with my hands, moving his haori off his shoulders while he did the same for me since they were getting in our way. I giggled and pressed my lips back against his, his hands were pulling my top over my head. I broke the kiss, saying

"Do you honestly think this is a good idea, the day's not over with." He rolled his eyes, pushing my body flat against the bed after throwing my shirt in the floor.

"Like anyone's gonna bother us." he said with a scoff, I stared at him with a deadpan look. "Only people that come to yer room on a daily basis is me and that Fukutaichou of yers, ya prolly loaded him down with paperwork so we're safe."

"He's not in the office actually." I admitted, he raised an eyebrow in question. "His girlfriend's pregnant, I let him have the day off so he could spend time with her."

"Aw, aren't you nice Kai-chan." he teased, I rolled my eyes to myself.

"Only cause he's a good kid." I argued, he laughed heartily and began tugging my pants off. "Shinji seriously, I don't think this is the best time-"

"Shh." he cooed, placing a light kiss on my neck. I bit my lip at the contact, a shiver running up my spine. Damn it, stupid Shinji and knowing my weak spots. "We'll be fine my little love."

"I-I don't know." I stuttered when he placed a kiss below my ear.

"Just relax." he purred, tossing my pants to the side. "Leave everything ta me."

"Shinji, I need to tell…"

I stopped when he placed another kiss on my neck, lightly biting down seconds later. I groaned softly and moved one of my arms around his neck, lacing my fingers through his silky hair as he continued planting love bites all over my skin. His hands were all over my body, touching and caressing everything like he had so many times before. I didn't really understand why he was so fascinated by my body since he'd seen it plenty of times these past eight months but it was nice knowing that I was wanted by someone. He moved slightly down my neck to my collarbone, lightly kissing it before biting down. I gasped in pain and tugged at his hair, wanting him to keep going.

"Please." I whined, he chuckled at the look on my face.

"Since ya asked so nicely." he teased, I pouted my lips cutely.

He chuckled again and pressed his lips against mine, moving his hands down my stomach. I bit down on his lower lip, moving my hands to the sash around his waist. I quickly untied the sash and tossed it to the side, still kissing him. I moved my hands to his top and began pulling at it so I could get it off, I was having a little trouble since I was feeling extremely turned on and aroused, my hands were shaking.

"Kaori I was-WHAT THE HELL!" I gasped and pulled out of the kiss, looking towards the door to see…ROSE!

'Holy shit, I didn't even hear it open.'

"What the hell are you doing to my Imouto!" Rose yelled, Shinji looked over.

"Kuso." he cursed, Rose's eyes widened when he saw it was Shinji.

"SHINJI!" he shouted, sounding shocked.

"Fuck." Shinji swore, quickly moving my body behind his. "Now Rose, we need to discuss this calmly-"

"Calm my ass!" Rose raged, we were so fucked…not in the way I wanted either. "You're trying to rape my Imouto."

"Rose please, he wasn't…he's my lover." I admitted, covering my body with my haori. I could see my brother shaking in anger, he looked so extremely pissed off. Shinji was dead, Rose was surely kill him if he got a hold of him. "Oni-chan…please-"

"This is who you've been seeing behind my back?" he shouted, I nodded a little.

"Rose, let's just talk about this." I implored, glancing at Shinji.

He looked so utterly terrified, he'd never seen Rose this angry before. I couldn't blame him for being scared, I was scared too and this was the third time in my life I'd seen Rose get _this _angry. I moved my eyes back to my brother, hoping that he would see reason.

"Rose please-" I started.

"Shut the fuck up Kaori." he barked, I felt my jaw drop in surprise at his words. He must've been pissed off with me, I'd never heard him sound so angry before. He'd never talked this way to me, never. "Get away from her right now."

"Rose, I really think it might be best if we all just sit down and talk this-" Shinji said, trying to keep Rose from blowing up _even _more.

"Get away from her!" he repeated, interrupting the blonde.

"Shinji, run." I whispered, he looked at me hesitantly. "Please, he'll kill you if you stay here." He nodded a little, not looking like he wanted to leave me but darted towards the window and jumped out.

"Get the hell back here!" Rose shouted, I quickly moved to block his path.

"Oni-chan please." I begged, tears were beginning to roll down my cheeks. "Don't hurt him Oni-chan…I…it's my fault this happened, please don't-" He ignored my pleas and sped out the door, my eyes widened in horror when the door almost broke from him sliding it shut so hard.

'No, Shinji…no.' I quickly turned and gathered my uniform from the floor, hurriedly putting everything back on, and jerked my haori on. I raced to the door and slid it open, hurrying out into the hallway and slid it shut as quickly as I could. I ran down the hallway at lightening speed, ignoring the fact that I'd forgotten my shoes back in my room. I didn't have any clue if Rose had immediately chased after Shinji, or…no…he'd went to get Kensei and Love to back him up…fucking hell.

I bolted down the hallway, my bare feet slapping against the wooden floor as I ran. My breathing was heavy and ragged, it felt as though the oxygen couldn't get to my lungs quickly enough. My legs felt so wobbly and weak, like I didn't have enough strength to continue running. I knew I had to keep running though, I had to hurry if I was going to be able to explain everything in time. I had to explain everything before it was too late and the damage was done. They may not even listen to what I had to say, but I knew I had to try. In order to save the man I loved from absolute pain and _possible_ death, I knew I had to get there in time. They wouldn't listen to him, and I had a feeling they wouldn't _want _to listen to me. They would though, just because they knew me as an honest type of person. That, and I'd strangle them if they didn't listen to me. I had to hurry, time was running out. Within the next few seconds, I knew something bad would happen…I could just feel it.

I swallowed hard, trying to get the lump out of my throat, and increased my running speed as best I could. I was so close now, just a few more turns and I'd make it. I _had _to make it in time, if I didn't, our secret would be all over Seireitei. I didn't know what would happen after that, but it would be _extremely _bad if the Soutaichou found out about this. Even worse if Central Forty-Six would find out. I didn't know what they'd do or what their reaction to it would be. The Soutaichou would be more lenient with us than Central Forty-Six, that was absolute. Central Forty-Six could be quite heartless when they wanted, forcing people to do things they didn't want to do. I knew it was for the greater good and all, but at times I couldn't stop myself from loathing all the members of Central Forty-Six. All their pointless and outlandish rules and regulations, forcing us to follow laws we didn't understand half the time, and then favoring the nobles above all others; what had Soul Society come to?

I made the final turn of my journey and my eyes scurried down the hallway, studying it. I felt a smile tug at my lips a bit when I saw the door just a little way ahead of me. I ran down the hallway as fast as my legs would carry me, breathing short quick breathes. My brother wasn't going to ruin the best thing of my life, there was no way I was going to let him. I knew he did the things he did because he cared about me. He wanted to take care of me and make sure no one was going to hurt me. That's how older brothers were, they were all about defending their little sisters. Even younger brothers took care of their older sisters whenever they got the chance, it was just a sibling bond. Something beautiful, there was nothing in the world like it. Not even friendship, but true love was a different story. True love…somehow managed to top the sibling bond, for me that is.

That's what I felt right now, towards this man I _had _to protect. I loved him, I was _in _love with him. At first I just thought it was a bit of a crush, an infatuation of some sort, my hormones being stupid; I didn't really know. I _did _know now though. After all the time I'd spent with him for the past eight months, I knew what it was I felt towards him. I couldn't help but want to stare into his eyes for hours when his eyes found mine across the room. The slimmest amount of contact from him made me want to just latch onto him and never let go, to have him hold me forever. His kisses were intoxicating, they always managed to take my breath away and make my mind an empty cavern. Everything about him was just perfect for me and I wasn't willing to give him up. There was no one in this universe that could make me. Not my friends, not my brother, not the Soutaichou, and _definitely _not Central Forty-Six.

My hand found its way around the handle of the office door, thoughts flashed through my head. Everything about our relationship, all the time we'd spent together during it, even our time as best friends when we were children. Memories of him, memories of the two of us, everything. The first time I ever met him, our first conversation, his reaction to me being his friend's little sister, his facial expression was hilarious; I'd never looked anything like my brother besides our skin tone. Our friendship grew to unspeakable measures, I didn't think there was anything that could make us closer, until I realized my feelings for him. More memories flashing infront of my eyes. The first slight amount of affection we showed towards each other, our first kiss, our first touches. Everything…I wouldn't let this feeling go, I wouldn't let _him _go. He was mine and _no one _was taking him from me.

I slid the door of the room open, all eyes went to me. The first pair of eyes I locked with, Muguruma Kensei, one of my closest friends. The second pair, Aikawa Love, my brother's closest friend. The third set of eyes, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, my older brother. Lastly and the most beautiful pair of eyes I'd ever seen, Hirako Shinji, my lover.

"Kaori…" I stared at my brother with an emotionless expression before taking a step into the room and sliding the door shut. I stared at the four men, wondering what was coming next. "We need to talk." I nodded in agreement, this needed to be explained.

"And for once Rose, you're going to listen to me." I said, folding my arms across my chest.

His eyes narrowed, this was going to be a _long_ conversation.

* * *

**Author's Note: Ooooo Rose knows now. Oh my god, where will this take Shinji and Kaori's relationship? Will Rose try to break them up? What do Kensei and Love have to say about this? The plot thickens, review and you'll find out in the next chapter. FIVE REVIEWS=NEW CHAPTER!!!!**

* * *

_CHAPTER TWENTY PREVIEW!!!!_

_"Me and Shinji are together."_

_"Nani?" Rose asked slowly, sounding dangerous._

_"We're together Oni-chan." I repeated, squeezing Shinij's hand._

_"How long has this been goin' on, huh?" Love asked, sounding just as aggravated as Rose._

_"None of your business." I snapped, Kensei took a step forward angrily._

_"Kaori, if you don't cooperate-" he started._

_"Eight months." Shinji said, interrupting his words_

_"Shinji." I whispered, he sighed softly._

_"Kai-chan, you know we're fucked." he reminded me, I nodded a bit. "It would be in our best interest, to not get in a fight with them."_

_"Demo…" I stopped, having no real idea what I'd been planning on saying. "They…they shouldn't be acting like this, they should be happy for us." I said quietly, tears began rolling down my cheeks._


	24. Chapter Twenty: Karakura High

"Well Kaori, start talking since you don't want me to kill his ass." Rose growled, I narrowed my eyes at him.

Well, this conversation sure was starting out well. Rose needed to calm down or his anger would cause him to not pay attention to a word I was telling him, like consensual might've sounded like _nonconsensual _since he was extremely pissed off. I glanced at Kensei to see his eyes narrowed at me, he didn't look too pleased by all this. I guessed Rose really _had _told he and Love all sorts of bullshit when he'd went to get them to back him up. Love had actually removed his sunglasses for the first time in a very long while, his eyes in a glare as well. Well hell, this was _not _looking good for me and Shinji. I plopped down on top the desk, Shinji looked as though he wanted to be near me but I guessed he was just afraid of what would happen if he took one measly step towards me. I pursed my lips and grabbed onto Shinji's hand, forcing him to sit next to me on the desk. He looked a little relieved to be close to me but he also looked extremely nervous, Rose's eyes had narrowed angrily when he'd sat next to me. I continued holding onto Shinji's hand and said

"You promise to stay calm and let me talk?" He nodded grudgingly and I sighed quietly to myself, running a hand through my hair. "Okay, to put things simply, me and Shinji are together."

"Nani?" Rose asked slowly, sounding dangerous.

"We're together Oni-chan." I repeated, squeezing Shinij's hand.

"How long has this been goin' on, huh?" Love asked, sounding just as aggravated as Rose.

"None of your business." I snapped, Kensei took a step forward angrily.

"Kaori, if you don't cooperate-" he started.

"Eight months." Shinji said, interrupting his words.

I blinked dumbly, glancing over at him. What was going through his head, I didn't have a clue what he was thinking about. We'd known each other since childhood and we've gotten even closer in the months that we'd been together, it was sad that I had no clue what he was thinking about. Why had he told them? They were going to murder him now, I was sure of it.

"Shinji." I whispered, he sighed softly.

"Kai-chan, you know we're fucked." he reminded me, I nodded a bit. "It would be in our best interest, to not get in a fight with them."

"Demo…" I stopped, having no real idea what I'd been planning on saying. "They…they shouldn't be acting like this, they should be happy for us." I said quietly, tears began rolling down my cheeks.

I coughed in the attempt to hold in the pain I was feeling and hugged him tightly, crying into his shoulder. I felt him stroking my green hair as I cried, trying to calm me down. I cried harder and hugged him tighter, saying absentmindedly

"I love you more than anything Shinji…I don't wanna lose you."

I felt myself freeze, realizing what I'd just said. No, why did it have to be _now _that I told him my feelings for him? It wasn't supposed to go this way, it was supposed to be at some romantic time that we admitted our feelings for each other, not when things were totally fucked up and people were pissed off at us. I glanced up at him, smiling a little when he pushed my side-bangs out of my eyes and wiped the tears of my cheeks.

"I love you too Kaori." he told me, I felt a small smile come to my lips at the words.

"You…do?" I questioned, he chuckled and pressed his lips against my forehead.

"I'll do anything ta stay with you. Hell, I'll resign tomorrow." he said with a grin, I shook my head.

"No, you can't…I'll resign." I argued, he rolled his grey eyes towards the ceiling.

"Nah, you'd get too emotional leaving that squad of yers behind." he teased, I pouted.

"Would not." I argued. "I won't let you resign, I'll do it."

Although I knew that I _would _in fact get emotional if I had to resign from my position, I knew I had to do it. For the sake of our relationship, among other things that I had yet to talk to him about. I'd been planning on it tonight before Rose interrupted everything, I guess I'd have to wait a little while.

"That won't be necessary."

I looked over at my brother, feeling confused as to what he was talking about. Wait…why didn't he look as pissed off as he did before? What was going through his head…I didn't understand.

"Oni-chan?" I whispered, he lowered his head grudgingly.

"Kaori…if you…love him like you say you do, then we'll keep it a secret." he mumbled, my eyes sparkled in happiness at his words.

"Really Oni-chan?" I asked, he nodded a little. I bounced up from the desk and bolted across the room to my brother, wrapping my arms around his torso. "Arigato Oni-chan, you don't know how much this means to me. Gomen…for not telling you. I knew you'd get mad though and I didn't want you mad at me and-"

"Calm down Kaori, sheesh." Love laughed, I kicked him in the knee.

"Shaddup." I yelled, hugging my brother tighter. "Stop ruining my moment with my Oni-chan."

He grumbled quietly and rubbed his knee, not looking very amused with the violent attack. Kensei still didn't look pleased that Rose had agreed to let me stay with Shinji, what was his damage?

"Nani Kensei?" I questioned, he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Kaori, having a relationship with another Taichou is strictly forbidden." he reminded me, I nodded sullenly. "I don't think it's a good idea."

"Yeah, I know." I said softly, moving back across the room to Shinji. I hugged him tightly, smiling when he placed a kiss on the top of my head and looked back at the silver haired male. "Relationships with Taichous and Fukutaichous are forbidden too, ya know?"

I watched him tense up, it _was _true then. He really _was _seeing Mashiro, damn this was strange. Oh well, it'd make him shut his mouth. Love gave Kensei a skeptical look and he shrugged, acting like he had no idea what I was talking about. I almost giggled to myself, resisting the urge to start singing 'I know something you don't know.' I glanced at Shinji, feeling especially pleased that I was allowed to stay with him. He looked like he felt the exact same way, he had that grin on his face again.

"Shinji." I turned my attention to Rose, watching him cross his arms over his chest.

"Hai Rose?" Shinji questioned, trying to sound more polite than usual.

"I swear, if you hurt Kaori, I'll make you regret it." he warned, I felt Shinji shrink back slightly.

"Oni-chan, stop it. You're gonna scare him away like you did to all the other guys I was with." I whined, Rose chuckled.

"That's the idea Kaori." he teased, I groaned loudly.

"You just can't let me have my guy, can you?" I asked, he shook his head.

"Gomenasai Imouto, it's only because I care." he told me, I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah yeah, you've told me that tons of times." I said nonchalantly, yawning tiredly. "God this day's been way too eventful for my taste. You guys ruin everything, Youta's girlfriend's pregnant, urg what else can go wrong?" I let go of Shinji's hand when there was a knock at Rose's office door, I mentally groaned. Of course I just had to jinx myself. Rose slowly opened it to find Mashiro standing there.

"Konban wa Mashiro." he greeted, she smiled brightly.

"Is Kensei here, I can't find him anywhere." she asked curiously, he nodded and allowed her to step inside. "There you are, I've been looking for you everywhere. I even missed dinner because of you, baka." She threw her arms in the air to express her frustration, Kensei rolled his eyes to himself.

"What now Mashiro?" he groaned, she wrinkled her nose to herself.

"Baka-Kensei, I just got a hell butterfly from the Soutaichou." she told him, his eyes widened in interest.

"What's going on?" he questioned, she cocked her head to the side a bit.

"Well, Yamamoto-Soutaichou wants to see us." she said, nodding a little to herself. "The butterfly had a report about some weird things going on in Rukongai and he wanted to talk to us about it. I think he might want us to put a squad together to check it out." Kensei nodded and looked at all of us, saying

"I'll let you guys know about it tomorrow or something."

"Kay, see ya Kensei." I said sweetly, he rolled his eyes and walked out with Mashiro following closely behind him. I could even hear what she was talking about, complaining I mean.

"I'm so hungry!" she whined.

"Shut up!" Kensei barked, I giggled quietly to myself.

God Kensei was so overdramatic, oh well though, I still considered him my friend despite his flaws.

_**The pendulum swings forward. The story rewinding backwards to the past will pause for an instant, so that we may take a look back into the future. The decisions made during the present, will greatly affect future events.**_

I finished brushing out my hair, looking at my reflection from all angles. Urg, I really hated this uniform. It was just so plain and I didn't really think that it looked good on me. I mean it had plenty of white to match with my spring green hair but the bowtie was just ridiculous in my opinion. Huh…I wondered. I took the bowtie off and crept across the floor of Shinji's room, looking through all his ties. 'Ah ha! Victory is mine.' I grinned to myself and looked over my shoulder, almost giggling when I saw that Shinji was reaching around in the bed for where I should be. Well, he actually wasn't starting at the high school today so I found no reason to wake him up. It was my gift to him for being such an amazing fiancé and buying me a gorgeous ring. I smiled to myself as I gazed down at my ring before going back to the mirror, slowly putting the red tie on. I nodded to myself in thought, making sure to make it extra loose so it would look casual and grabbed the tan schoolbag I'd bought for myself a while back. I tiptoed across the room to Shinji's side and kissed his cheek, whispering

"I love you Shinji."

I smiled again when he mumbled something in his sleep that I really couldn't understand and exited the room as quietly as I could, slipping my shoes on my feet once I was in the hallway. I groaned quietly at how early it was and descended the stairs, making it into the kitchen. I smiled sweetly at Hachigen and he said

"Ohayou Kaori."

"Ooi Hachi." I greeted, yawning tiredly.

"I made some breakfast for you." he told me, I smiled gratefully.

"Arigato Hachi, I'll be so tired when I get back from that place more than likely." I commented, taking a seat at the table. I munched on the breakfast he'd made for me, looking around the table. "Everyone still asleep?" I asked curiously, he nodded in agreement.

"You know they never wake up this early." he pointed out, I shrugged casually.

"I guess so, they need to stop being so lazy." I grumbled, he chuckled quietly.

"Now you're being hypocritical Kaori-chan." he reminded me, I laughed to myself.

"Yeah, I guess I am." I laughed, finishing up the food. I grabbed the bag and nodded to him, saying "I'm gonna go ahead there, I'll let ya know all about my day."

"Have fun." he teased, I smiled sweetly which only made him laugh.

I rolled my eyes to myself and exited the warehouse, licking my lips in thought. Karakura High School, this sure would be fun. I didn't know a thing about High School, I hoped it would be awesome like the Shinigami Academy. I had so many different memories from that place, some that I wished I could forget and others that I didn't. It had been quite the fun adventure, training to become a Shinigami and such. I smiled slightly to myself at the memories and used shunpo, moving up onto one of the roofs of a warehouse and jumped into the air. I made my way to the school slowly, walking on the air as I did so and stared around at all the students that I passed. None of them looked like that Shinigami, Kurosaki. Hm, maybe I needed to cause a little trouble of some sort. I grinned to myself and stopped some distance from the school, jumping up onto one of the telephone poles. I sat down and rummaged through my bag, grinning again when I came across some hollow bait. I closed my bag and stared up at the sky, crushing it.

"Whoops." I mumbled, grinning sarcastically.

I watched the particles move with the wind, Hollows soon began pushing their way through tons of garganta. I looked around the ground, tilting my head to the side curiously when someone came running up. 'Spiky bright orange hair and brown eyes, huge Zanpakuto on his back…that's him alright. Kurosaki Ichigo.' I watched as he began battling against the hollows, two other people soon came on the scene. The boy had brown curly hair, only one of his eyes were visible and he looked very muscular. The girl had long red hair and wide grey eyes, she looked especially worried for Kurosaki. I watched for a few minutes as the Shinigami defeated the hollows, feeling _slightly _impressed that he hadn't needed any help from his companions. He didn't have much talent when it went to controlling his reiatsu, hm…?

"You know, I think I probably could've dispatched these Hollows on my own." Kurosaki said to the other two. "You didn't need to leave school, you know."

"I just wanted to try escaping school by lying and saying 'I gotta go to the bathroom.'" the girl said, smiling a little.

"I guess it's okay that you're not making excuses but that was a little reckless Inoue." the brown haired guy said to the girl.

"Now that I think about it." the girl said, looking over her shoulder. "Ishida-kun didn't come, did he?"

"It can't be helped, he's lost his powers." Kurosaki said, putting his Zanpakuto on his shoulder.

Well this sure caught my interest, who was this Ishida that they were talking about? Had he been a Shinigami or something? I was feeling especially nosy, wondering how a Shinigami could manage to lose their powers. Maybe he hadn't been a Shinigami and just been some human with a power or something…hm?

"Demo…we've been back for two weeks already." the red head said, sounding worried.

"Don't worry, he'll deal with it somehow." Kurosaki told her. "Even without his powers, he put up a good fight."

"Let's believe in him." the brown hair boy said.

"Hai, let's." Inoue agreed with a smile. They all began walking off together and I felt a smile stretch it's way onto my face, playing with a few strands of my hair.

'Kurosaki Ichigo huh?' I grinned to myself and hopped down from the telephone pole, heading in the direction of the school. 'Well this sure is gonna be fun.' After a few good minutes worth of walking, I made it into the school and went to the administration office. After some scheduling and a few other lame things, which took way too long for my taste, I was told which class I would be in…the same class as Kurosaki. I giggled to myself and walked down the hallway, towards the classroom that taught by a woman named Ochi. The secretary had already called her to inform her that I would be entering her class as a transfer student, heh, transfer student my ass. 'Urg, this place is already getting on my nerves. How can scheduling classes take _that _long.' I silently groaned to myself and stopped infront of the door, it opened before I even had the chance to knock. I stared at the black haired woman with glasses standing there before smiling sweetly.

"You must be our new transfer student." she said with a wide smile, I nodded.

"That's me alright." I agreed, she motioned me inside.

"Come in, come in." she ushered, I slowly followed her inside to the front of the class. "Class, you remember the transfer student I mentioned a few minutes ago? Well, this is her. I'll introduce her, your name please?" I almost rolled my eyes but turned my attention to the class, smiling sweetly.

"Umm…I'm Otoribashi Kaori." I said, waving a hand halfheartedly. "Very nice to meet you all." I continued keeping the smile on my face, even though I was getting all sorts of looks from the students and turned my attention to the teacher when she said

"Alright, let's find you a seat."

"Let her sit next to me sensei." one boy said.

"No way, put her by me."

"No me!"

"Sensei, here." I cringed slightly and Ochi rolled her eyes, saying

"You can sit next to Arisawa-chan."

All the boys that had been yelling groaned and I giggled softly, going to sit by the raven haired girl pointed out by the teacher. I took my seat, glancing at Kurosaki. 'Huh, he must be as stupid as he looks. He hasn't even noticed that I have a strong level of reiatsu, even though I'm suppressing a good amount of it. Oh well though. That means when Shinji comes in, he won't notice anything off about him either. All the better for us, we'll even be able to surprise him with the fact that we have the same powers as he does.' I felt a smirk come to my lips and blinked dumbly at the board, what the hell was all this shit? Was this some foreign language or something? I wrinkled my nose, listening intently as Ochi taught the class…okay…what was she talking about? I didn't understand a bit of this, fuck my life.

After hours worth of all kinds of work, most of which I didn't understand, we finally got our lunch break. I walked down the hallway, looking for the locker I'd been assigned and smiled slightly when I finally came across it. I tried dialing the combination a good number of times before just kicking the locker in frustration, I'd never get this damn contraption open.

"Do you need some help?" a cheerful voice asked, I looked over to see it was the Inoue girl. I smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of my head.

"Kinda, it doesn't wanna open." I admitted, rubbing my head again.

"Let me see your combination." I nodded and handed it over to her, watching as she put it in, it popped open. I felt my jaw drop in anger but quickly put a smile on my face when she looked at me.

"Arigato." I said sweetly, she nodded.

"No problem, I'm Inoue Orihime." she said, introducing herself.

"Otoribashi Kaori." I told her, shaking her hand.

"Would you like to come eat lunch with me?" she asked curiously, watching as I stowed my books in the locker.

"Oh I wouldn't want to interrupt your time with your friends." I said sweetly, she merely smiled.

"Don't be silly, come on." she said, grabbing onto my hand.

I shut my locker and let her lead me to the lunchroom, she was talking the entire way there as well. She seemed really nice and all, but people that didn't know how to shut up drove me crazy. We got our food after a few minutes and she led me to a table, Kurosaki was one of the people sitting there, as well as the brown haired guy and a boy with glasses and blue colored hair.

"Ooi everyone." Inoue greeted, sitting down. "This is Otoribashi-chan."

"Nice to meet you." I said sweetly, following her example.

"That's Ishada-kun, Sado-kun, and Kurosaki-kun." she told me, I felt a smile come to my lips. I wrinkled my nose when I felt my phone vibrate and sighed, pulling it out.

"Sumimasen." I asked of them, putting the phone to my ear. "Konnichiwa."

"_Why didn't ya wake me up?" _Shinji of course, he was such a worrier at times.

"Ooi darling." I said sweetly, I could just hear him growl on the other end.

"_Don't 'ooi darling' me." _he snapped, I rolled my eyes to myself at his tone of voice. _"I wanted ta say bye to ya before ya went to school."_

"Aw, gomenasai." I apologized, pouting a little. "I didn't wanna wake you, I woulda felt bad."

"_How thoughtful."_ he teased, I giggled softly to myself.

"I'm fine." I swore, twirling a strand of hair around my finger. "I'm at school, made some friends…I think. Uhh, hold on. Ooi guys, are we friends?" The four of them looked at me curiously and Inoue smiled.

"Of course we're friends." she said sweetly, I smiled.

"Yep, I made friends." I told Shinji, he laughed on the other end.

"_Wonderful love, I'll see ya when school lets out." _he promised, I felt a smile come to my lips.

"Okay, love you." I told him, I heard him chuckle on the other end.

"_I love you too Kai-chan, later."_

"Bye." I closed my phone, smiling a little at the group. "Gomenasai, my fiancé worries all the time about whether I get to school safe if he doesn't go with me. Gomen." I apologized, Inoue's jaw dropped.

"You have a fiancé?" she asked, sounding energetic. I giggled and nodded, holding up my left hand to let her see my engagement ring. She gasped and took my hand, examining the ring. "It's beautiful, it looked expensive."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was." I admitted, smiling sheepishly. She continued to study my ring in awe, looking extremely impressed by it. I smiled slightly to myself as she continued to look over my ring before finally releasing my hand.

"Wow, it's so beautiful." she said.

"Arigato." I said sweetly. "So…ano…what was Ochi-sensei talking about in class exactly?" They all gave me a confused look…damn it. I hoped I hadn't blown my cover, that wouldn't have been good.

"Ano…I think it was something to do with proofs." Inoue said hesitantly, wrinkling her nose in thought. "Was that what it was Ishida-kun?"

"Hai." he replied, I scratched my cheek in thought.

"They're confusing." I commented, Inoue laughed cheerfully.

"Yeah, extremely." she agreed, I giggled quietly to myself.

After a little while worth of talking and slowly getting to know each other, we went back to class when the bell rang. Hours later, school was finally let out and I walked the halls to get all my junk out of that dumb contraption called a locker. 'God damn it, open you dumb locker.' I growled quietly and kicked it again, feeling extremely frustrated. Why the hell was this thing so difficult for me to open?

"Ha ha, having some trouble?" a voice asked, I looked over curiously.

I smiled slightly at the blonde boy, he was kinda cute…for a human that is. His hair was all curly and cut in a more shaggy style, but with all his curls it looked a little shorter than it actually was. I could barely see the color of his eyes, blue. Aw, I hoped he would help me, he looked extremely nice.

"A little bit, mind helping me?" I inquired, sounding extremely sweet. He chuckled and looked over my combination, opening my locker for me. "Arigato, this thing hates me or something."

"Ha ha, first time having a locker or something?" he asked, I nodded as I got my bag out.

"Yeah, back in my old school we didn't have lockers." I lied easily, he nodded a little. "Oh, I'm Otoribashi Kaori."

"Hayushi Kin." he told me, I nodded and placed my homework in my bag. "How do you like the school so far." I shrugged and said

"It's okay I guess, not much different than my old school besides these dumb lockers." He laughed and nodded a little before shaking his head so his hair flew around slightly.

"They're not too bad once you get used to them." he told me, I nodded a little.

"Good because I hate these things." He chuckled and we began walking down the hallway together towards the exit of the school. "So…what can you tell me about that Kurosaki guy, he seems kinda strange." I questioned, smiling a little.

"He is pretty weird, he always runs out of class all the time for some weird reason." he told me. I nodded, knowing exactly what he didn't know. Hollows, that was the reason Kurosaki always left class. "He really changed after break, especially with the people he hangs out with now. I mean, he's always hung out with Sado and he talked to Inoue a little. He never associated with Ishida though, then break's over and they're all like best friends or something. Pretty weird."

"Sounds like it, maybe they wound up vacationing together." I guessed, almost smirking to myself.

"Maybe." he laughed, I smiled a little and walked down the street with him. "So, where do you live?"

"Ano, with my Oni-chan and cousins." I lied, shrugging a little. "Parents died when I was around fourteen and it left my Oni-chan in charge of me. Almost all my cousins are older than me except like…two, and their parents died in a car accident like mine. They were gonna be sent to group home but my Oni-chan gained charge of them before they could be shipped off. We're a pretty tight nit family."

"Gomen about your parents, that must suck." he apologized, I smiled a little.

"They were always away on business, I didn't really know them too well." I said, totally lying through my teeth. "What about you?"

"I live with my Outo-san and Omouto, Oka-san and Outo-san divorced when I was five." he told me, I felt kinda bad for him. Not knowing much about your Oka-san must've sucked.

"Gomen." I said, he nodded a little and smiled.

"It's fine, Oka-san visits sometimes on our birthdays and Christmas." he said, I nodded a bit. "Ano…I was wondering."

"Hm?" I questioned, he smiled nervously.

"Well…I know I don't really know you too well but I was wondering if you wanna hang out some time." he asked, I bit my lip nervously.

"Oh…well, gomen." I apologized. "Demo…I kinda have-" I felt a pair of arms go around my waist from behind me and a cheek nuzzled against the side of my head.

"Ooi my little love." I giggled quietly and glanced over my shoulder, smiling at Shinji.

"Ooi Shinji." I greeted, he chuckled and pressed his lips against my cheek. Well hell, this was a bad way for Kin to meet my fiancé. I turned my attention to the other blonde, smiling sheepishly. "Ano Hayushi-kun, this is Shinji, he's my fiancé." I told him, I watched his cheeks burn in embarrassment.

"Nice to meet you." Kin said nervously, I could just feel Shinji growl behind me. He didn't sound too happy. Goodness gracious, he could've just let me handle it but of course not. He was way too overprotective for his own good at times.

"You too." Shinji said grudgingly. "Kai-chan, we need ta get home before yer Oni-chan gets all pissy."

"Right." I agreed, smiling a little. "I'll see ya tomorrow at school."

"Bye Otoribashi-chan." he said, walking away much faster than he should've.

I looked over my shoulder at Shinji, narrowing my eyes when I saw his glare. Goodness, he was _so _possessive. I couldn't even _attempt _to make guy friends without getting him mad and shit.

"What was that about?" I questioned, he rolled his eyes.

"The guy was obviously hitting on ya." he said, sounding annoyed.

"God, I was taking care of it." I told him, kissing his cheek. "You seriously think I would do something like cheat on you with a _human_, puh-lease." He rolled his eyes at my sarcastic tone, pressing his lips against mine.

"God yer such a troublemaker." he grumbled, I giggled against his lips.

"You love me anyway." He nodded before kissing me again.

First day at Karakura High equals…I hate that dumb contraption called a locker.


	25. Extra: Scene Four

_**Click**_

_**Click**_

_**Click**_

_**These are the only sounds echoing in the black, three seconds intervals between the clicks.**_

_**A golden pendulum is suspended in the air, slowly swinging back and forth, to and fro.**_

_**In order to understand the future, it is evident that we most know the past.**_

_**In order to understand relationships, we must know the very beginning of them.**_

_**In order to further understand people, we must know their history.**_

_**The golden pendulum slows to a halt, stopping time for a mere instant.**_

_**The pendulum begins to swing in reverse, going further into the past then we'd ever ventured before.**_

_**

* * *

**_

Otoribashi Kaori groaned softly to herself, trying to ignore the feeling of someone jumping on her bed. She pulled her pillow over her head, laying facedown in the mattress. She growled softly when the person had yet to cease jumping on her bed, keeping her eyes tightly shut. She wasn't just ready to wake up, she wondered who was dumb enough to be jumping on her bed so early in the morning and _why _were they jumping on her bed to begin with? She wanted to know if they actually had a good reason or if they were just plain stupid.

"Kaori-chan, wake up wake up." an enthusiastic voice demanded, Kaori groaned again when she immediately recognized the childish voice.

She moved the pillow off her head after a few seconds, turning over on her stomach to be met with the petite figure of Mashiro bouncing on her bed. Mashiro ceased bouncing when she saw that the other greenette had finally woken up, smiling brightly at her.

"Yay, you're awake!" she cheered, Kaori nodded tiredly.

"How could I sleep with you jumping on my bed?" she questioned, sounding sarcastic. Mashiro giggled quietly and shrugged at the question, jumping down into the floor.

"Gomen." she apologized, giggling again.

"Why'd you hafta wake me up?" the green eyed girl complained.

"I told her to wake you up." Kaori looked over in the direction of the voice, her eyes narrowing when she saw Lisa standing there.

"Nande?" Kaori asked slowly, sounding dangerous.

"It's our first day at the Academy, we can't be late Kaori." she reminded her, Kaori made an 'oh' face.

Now that she was actually paying attention, both girls were wearing the red Academy uniform for the females. The only difference she could see in their uniforms was that Mashiro had a bright blue scarf around her neck and Lisa had a bright red bow tied around her waist.

"I totally forgot about that." Kaori said quietly, forcing herself to sit up in the bed.

She looked around their shared room at the Academy, watching Hiyori pull her hair up into her high ponytails. She looked over he shoulder at Kaori, grinning widely, the greenette almost rolled her eyes at the amused look on her friend's face.

"Ooi Kaori." she greeted, sounding teasing.

"Ohayou Hiyori." the other girl mumbled, forcing herself out of the bed.

"Yay! Kaori-chan's up." Mashiro exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air to express her enthusiasm.

Kaori rolled her olive green eyes at all the girl's energy and trudged across the room to their bathroom, splashing her face with cold water from the sink to wake herself up a little more.

"Do we have our schedules yet?" Kaori questioned, walking out of the bathroom after she'd dried her face. Lisa nodded in agreement, grabbing four letters off her nightstand.

"Yeah, some messenger guy delivered them this morning." she replied, passing a letter to Mashiro.

She handed one to Hiyori, then another to Kaori. The greenette opened the letter, looking through it curiously. Hmm, this sure was interesting…and then she was bored. She looked over at her friends, watching their reactions to the letters. Hiyori had scoffed, crumpling her letter and shoving it in one of the pockets of her hakama pants. Mashiro was looking at her letter from all angles, whether it be turning the letter in all sorts of different directions or moving her head at different angles. Lisa was staring over hers intently, looking as though she was trying to commit it to memory. Kaori sighed, stretching her arms above her head and said

"I'm gonna get dressed."

"Kay Kaori-chan." Mashiro said, attempting to turn her head upside down.

Kaori rolled her eyes at her friend and trudged across the room, grabbing her Academy uniform. She pursed her lips as she looked it over for a moment before pulling it on slowly, making sure it looked perfect. She sighed softly and grabbed her hairbrush, turning her attention to the mirror next to her bed. She licked her lips in thought, running the brush through her halfway down her back length hair. She wrinkled her nose as she brushed her hair and pushed her side-bangs off to the side, wondering if she should pull her hair up into a high ponytail. She looked over her shoulder at her three friends, saying

"Guys." The girls looked back at Kaori, watching her play with a strand of her hair. "What should I do with my hair?"

"Leave it down Kaori-chan, it looks so pretty." Mashiro pleaded, Lisa nodded in agreement.

"I agree, it looks very nice today." she added, Hiyori wrinkled her nose.

"Take a hairbow with ya since we hafta do some physical shit taday." she suggested, Kaori nodded in agreement.

"Okay, will do." she said, putting a bright pink hairbow around her right wrist. She smiled slightly to herself when she saw her reflection, looking at herself from all angles before she decided she was ready to get out of the room. "Alright, I guess we should get going."

"Yeah, the sensei's won't be pleased if we're late." Lisa commented, scratching her head.

"Tch, we don't hafta be there fer another two hours." Hiyori grumbled, Kaori wrinkled her nose.

"I'm hungry though and I want food." she complained, Mashiro nodded eagerly in agreement.

"Me too." she whined, Hiyori groaned at the older girl's continuing whining.

"Fine." she mumbled. "Just shaddup Mashiro."

The greenette pouted at the rude order but nodded a little, following behind her friends as they exited their dormitory. They walked the halls together, Kaori pursed her lips in thought.

"I wonder if the whole gang's awake yet." she pondered, Lisa shrugged.

"Maybe, you never know with them." she commented, Kaori nodded a little.

"Yeah, they're dumbasses." she laughed, Mashiro giggled quietly to herself.

"Especially Kensei-baka." she added, they all started laughing about _that _one.

"I'm pretty sure Kensei would be awake right about now." Lisa said thoughtfully, Kaori nodded in agreement.

"Yeah and Oni-chan's all about punctuality and shit so he's prolly awake too." she said with a bored tone, playing with a few strands of her spring green hair. "Any clue where they'd be?"

"Eating breakfast more than likely." Lisa replied, yawning loudly. "It's so early."

"Tch, this isn't gonna be much fun." Hiyori grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. "All these dumb nobles and upper-class shits all over the place."

"Huh…they're all looking at us." Mashiro observed, Kaori looked around.

She narrowed her eyes slightly when she saw that Mashiro was in fact right, all the upper class students were giving them the most disgusted looks. The looks that told her that they were being looked at as though they were trash, like they weren't worth being at the Shinigami Academy. She wrinkled her nose and moved her head back towards her friends, trying to ignore the looks they were receiving.

"Tch, konohages." Hiyori mumbled, Kaori nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, they're all a bunch of jerks." she added, following Lisa into the dining area. "They think they're so much better since they never had to struggle for anything."

"Not nice at all." Mashiro sang, bolting towards the food.

The three girls gave her a blank stare and finally started laughing, following her over to the food. The four grabbed their food after a few comments about how dumb the upper class could be and took some seats at a vacant table. Kaori bobbed her head to the side as she ate her food, marveling at how amazing it tasted. She pursed her lips when a pair of hands went over her eyes, groaning quietly.

"God Shinji, do you always hafta do that?" she complained, she giggled when she heard his obnoxious laugh.

"Ooi Kaori." he greeted, taking a seat next to her. She giggled when she felt a kiss being placed on the top of her head, reaching behind her and poking her twin's stomach.

"Ohayou Oni-chan." she sang, he chuckled.

"Ohayou Imouto." he replied, moving around the table to take a seat across from her. The other two boys took their seats at the table, she rolled her eyes when she saw Love pass a book across the table to Lisa. The black haired girl grinned to herself and said

"Arigato Love."

She opened up the book to the first page and began reading it as she ate her breakfast. Kaori giggled to herself and shoved the blonde sitting next to her, he rolled his eyes and casually put his arms around her shoulders. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks at the contact but made no movement to pull away from him. Weirdly enough, she felt comfortable feeling his touch. What was going on with her?

"Waaha, Kensei you meany." Mashiro complained loudly, Kaori snapped her head to the green haired girl.

"Shut the hell up Mashiro." he shouted, sounding annoyed with her.

"I'm so hungry." Mashiro continued, ignoring Kensei's comment. "Why won't you share your food with me?"

"Go get your own damn it." he yelled, Lisa rolled her eyes behind her book.

"Oh joy." she murmured to herself, turning a page.

"Kensei, you might want to calm down." Rose advised, looking around the room. "People are staring."

"Let'm stare, this girl pisses me off." Kensei raged, Mashiro whined and groaned louder.

"Baka!" she accused, Kensei's eye twitched in annoyance.

"Damn it Mashiro, I'm gonna-" he started, Love quickly pulled him away from the greenette and took the seat next to her so Kensei was sitting next to Rose.

Kensei glared slightly in the girl's direction but turned his attention to his food, trying to ignore Mashiro's bellyaching. Kaori rolled her eyes at Kensei's anger management issues and grinned at Shinji, shoving a spoon full of food into his mouth when he opened his mouth to say something. He glared slightly at her, chewing at the food and she giggled to herself.

"So when do you all have kido practice?" Kaori questioned, tilting her head to the side.

"Ano, third class of the day." Love told her, she nodded a little.

"Awesome, we have class together then." she cheered, punching the air above her head.

Hiyori scoffed, not looking like she enjoyed the idea of being in the same class as Shinji and sipped at her drink, resisting the urge to hit the blonde in the face. She'd have to get him back later for calling her short…again. Kaori danced around in her seat a bit, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.

"I hope the classes aren't too hard." she mumbled, Lisa shrugged.

"Can't do anything about it if they are." she commented, the greenette nodded in agreement.

"So true." she sighed, Shinji rubbed her shoulder. She felt herself shiver at the contact but forced herself to ignore it, listening to Rose when he said

"We have swordsmanship practice sixth class."

"Yay!" Mashiro cheered, throwing her hands in the air. "We'll be using wooden katanas…right?"

"Yeah, more than likely." Love mumbled, scratching his ear. "We're all first years after all."

"True." Rose agreed. "They'll make us wait a little longer before letting us use real katanas."

"Yay!" Mashiro cheered again, sounding enthusiastic. Kaori saw Kensei's eye twitch, he was slowly growing aggravated with her again. She rolled her eyes to herself and bounced to her feet, saying

"I'm gonna go get my books and shit, see ya later guys."

"Later Kaori." Love said, she nodded and head out of the dining area.

She walked down the hallway boredly, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger as she walked. She looked around the hallway, groaning when she saw the clock. She had about forty-five minutes before class started, she'd need to hurry up and grab her stuff. She entered her shared room with the girls, rummaging through her stuff until she found her books and such before stowing all of it in her school bag, heading out of the room seconds later. She licked her lips as she went down the hallway, going down some stairs until she made it into the classroom area of the building. She stared at the doors as she walked, trying to find her first class of the day and played with her hair again to occupy her boredom. She pursed her lips in thought, going around a corner and almost bumped into a boy around her age.

"Kuso, gomenasai." she apologized, smiling a little at the black haired boy.

He smiled a little and nodded, he didn't look like he cared too much. Kaori looked over his appearance, her smile widening at how cute he was. His hair fell almost to the top of his shoulders, cut with some layers to give his hair a more messy look and he had green eyes. He had an athletic look to him as well, she was extremely attracted to strong guys. She smiled again, not really paying attention to the fact that he was with a few other males, they weren't half as cute as he was in her opinion.

"No problem." the boy told her, shrugging his shoulders.

"Ah ha ha, I still feel pretty lame. I'm so klutzy at times." she admitted, twirling a strand of her hair around a finger.

"Nah it's cool." he laughed. "So, I haven't seen you around here before, you a new student?"

"Yeah, it's my first year." she replied sweetly, still smiling. "Otoribashi Kaori."

"Mamoru Ichiro." he said, introducing himself. "You seem sorta lost." She laughed nervously, shrugging her shoulders.

"A little." she giggled, pulling out her sweet face. "Mind helping me?"

"Sure, come on." he instructed, she smiled sweetly at how willing he was to help her. She handed her schedule to him when he asked for it, watching him look over it. His friends were walking some distance behind the pair, conversing amongst themselves.

"So, what year are you?" Kaori questioned, he smiled a little at her.

"Third." he replied, she made an 'oh' face.

"Nice." she commented, he shrugged a little.

"It's been pretty sweet I guess." She smiled a little, following beside him around a corner. "Let's see, it's that door right there." he told her, handing the schedule back.

"Arigato." she said sweetly. "I woulda wound up getting myself lost." He laughed and said

"Yeah, plenty of people do that their first day."

"Hehe, well it was a good thing I ran into someone nice enough to help me." she said with a flirtatious tone. She watched a smirk come to his lips, hoping that she would wind up getting what she wanted, a date.

"Want me to show you how to get to your other classes?" he inquired, the smirk still on his lips.

"That'd be great." the greenette said with another sweet smile. She watched him look back over his shoulder at his friends and shout

"Guys, I'll see ya later. I'm gonna show her the rest of her classes."

She watched all the boys smirk and nod in agreement, walking off in another direction. Kaori smiled to herself, feeling extremely pleased that she'd get some alone time with the boy. She handed her schedule back to him, walking beside him down the hallway. They walked down the hallways, slowly getting to know more about each other while he pointed out a few different classes to her. The more she talked to him, the more she liked him. He had that cocky attitude that she liked in a guy, someone confident but he didn't flaunt it every minute. Guys like that got on her nerves, but he was the complete opposite of a jerk. Other than the cockiness, he was pretty nice. She was getting that whole sexual attraction vibe, he was just _too _gorgeous but she also was getting the emotional vibe. They had plenty in common, unlike the last guy she dated, so she was really beginning to like this guy even though she hadn't known him too long.

"You won't wind up getting lost, will you?" he asked at random, she shook her head.

"Nope, once I know where somewhere is, I can find it." she replied, playing with her hair.

He nodded, she could see that he had the same pleased look on his face that she had earlier. Apparently he wanted some alone time with her too, good thing for her then. He was incredibly cute and she wanted to know more about him than she already knew, she was really crushing on him even though she'd just met him.

"So what division do you want to join in Gotei 13 once you graduate?" she inquired, he shrugged a little.

"I'm tied between the second and eleventh." he answered, she tilted her head to the side slightly.

"You must be really good at hand to hand combat then, if you wanna join the second division." she commented, he nodded a little.

"Been top of my class for the past two years." he informed her, she nodded at the answer. So he was strong like she'd first thought, that was definitely another point to add for why she was interested in him. "The senseis have even said I've excelled more than any other student so I'm rather proud of my accomplishment."

"I would be too, top of your class for two years is impressive." she said sweetly, watching another smirk come to his lips.

"Yeah." he agreed, pointing another classroom out to her. "So what about you, which division you wanna join?"

"Ano, I'm pretty drawn to the eighth right now. I might wind up changing my mind knowing me." she laughed, he chuckled quietly to himself. "I've heard Kyoraku-Taichou is pretty awesome."

"Yeah, he seems pretty laidback." Ichiro added, she nodded in agreement.

"I like laidback people, doing too much work bugs me." she said boredly, nodding when he pointed to another classroom.

"Yeah, it can be pretty bothersome." he agreed, glancing over at her. She smiled again and he said "So Kaori, would you like to go to dinner with me sometime?"

"Aw, why would a strong guy like you want a weak little first year like me?" she teased, he chuckled quietly.

"Well, maybe it's because you're the most gorgeous girl I've ever laid eyes on." he joked, she felt the smile on her lips widen.

"Oh really?" she taunted, he nodded with a grin on his face. "Well…I suppose I could. Especially since I have a thing for guys with black hair." He chuckled and handed the schedule back to her, saying

"I'm helping out the sensei with that kido class you have, I'll let you know about dinner later today."

"Oh, so you wanna go tonight?" she giggled, he raised an eyebrow at her.

"If you want." She nodded eagerly, moving her hand to his arm so she could lightly run her fingers over it teasingly.

"I'd like that very much." she told him, grinning when his face leaned down closer to hers.

Yes, her first kiss in ages; nothing could ruin this moment. She felt herself smile when his lips pressed against hers, moving an arm around his neck while he placed his around her waist. She giggled into the kiss when he lightly nibbled on her lower lip and pulled back slightly, waving her finger infront of his face.

"Ah ah ah, don't go so fast." she teased, he chuckled quietly.

"Gomen, I can't help myself around pretty girls like you." he said with a grin, pressing his lips against her cheek.

She smiled sweetly and ran her fingers through his hair, marveling at how soft it was. She giggled quietly when he kissed her cheek again, staring up into his eyes. Wow, his eyes were such a gorgeous shade of green. She felt herself smile again when he pressed his lips back against hers, moving her fingers through his hair.

"Kaori I-WHAT THE FUCK?" She broke the kiss and turned to see Shinji standing there, looking completely pissed off.

"Kuso." she swore, taking a step back from Ichiro. "Ooi Shinji."

He narrowed his eyes, looking from the black haired boy to her, not looking pleased in the least. He growled and strut forward, grabbing onto her arm and began dragging her down the hallway.

"Shinji." she complained. "I didn't even get to say bye."

"Too bad." he grumbled, she looked back over her shoulder at the black haired boy. He looked so completely confused, she yelled

"Gomen, my best friend's a loser. I'll see ya later." He smiled a little and nodded, heading down the opposite end of the hallway.

"A loser am I?" Shinji snapped, sounding pissed off.

"You just can't let me talk to any guys, can ya?" she groaned.

"Oh yeah, ya can definitely talk with yer lips glued ta his huh?" he growled, she pursed her lips angrily.

"What your problem, seriously?" she questioned, feeling annoyed.

"What's _my _problem?" Shinji repeated, releasing her arm and turning to face her. "_My _problem is ya goin around kissing guys ya don't know a thing about."

"I knew things about him." she argued, crossing her arms over her chest. "We were getting to know each other and we're going on a date tonight."

She watched Shinji's jaw lock angrily when she said 'date.' He didn't look happy about that in the least, she could see his fists clenching and unclenching in anger. She pursed her lips and said

"When did you become my Oni-chan Shinji, seriously?" she inquired, poking him in the chest. "You can't tell me what to do, you're just my friend."

She blinked when she saw something in Shinji's eyes, he looked slightly hurt by her words. Why was he hurt, what had she said? She was just stating the truth, he wasn't her older brother so he couldn't tell her what to do when it came to dating. She blinked dumbly when he cupped her cheek, staring down into her eyes.

"Kaori…I just don't want ya gettin hurt." he told her, she felt all her anger disappear at his words.

"Shinji." she whispered, he sighed and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"Yer my best friend Kaori, I just don't want anyone takin advantage of ya." he explained, she nodded understandingly.

"I know, I'll be fine though. I don't need another Oni-chan, I just want a best friend that will always be there for me." she admitted, he nodded a little and hugged her tightly.

She smiled softly and buried her face in his chest, happy that he wasn't pissed off with her anymore. She felt horrible when he would be angry with her, she'd feel even worse than when she'd hurt her brother's feelings. She didn't understand why she felt worse over Shinji but she was too busy hugging him to care, she felt so wonderful when he held her. She didn't know why she did but that's how she felt. She sighed quietly and Shinji pulled out of the hug, saying

"Gomen…fer gettin so flustered Kaori." She nodded, letting him know that she forgave him.

"No big deal, maybe I shoulda waited a while before kissing him." she mumbled, trying to see things from his point of view. She wasn't having much luck but she could try, couldn't she?

"Anyway…I got somethin fer ya." Shinji said randomly, grabbing her attention. She tilted her head to the side, looking at him confused.

"Huh?" she asked, feeling dumbfounded. The blonde laughed and reached into his pocket, pulling something out.

"Turn around." he ordered, she pouted.

"Now that's not fair." she complained, he gave her a look that said 'do it now or I'll kick your ass.' She groaned loudly and turned around as ordered, blinking when she felt something being placed around her neck. "Shinji?" she questioned, he ignored her.

"Okay."

She grabbed whatever was around her neck, holding it up to her face. She felt a smile come to her lips, a spider web necklace, with a black spider on it. Woah, this was the most amazing thing ever in her book. Shinji knew she'd had an obsession with spiders since she was a child, she was surprised he'd gotten something so amazing for her. She turned to face her best friend, a smile on her lips.

"Shinji, arigato." she said softly, he grinned and shrugged nonchalantly.

"No biggie." he said with that same grin on his face.

She giggled quietly and hugged him tightly around the waist, burying her nose in the material of his top. She ignored the blush that had set itself on her face, inhaling his scent. Had Shinji always smelt like this, so amazing? She blinked dumbly at the thoughts, smiling to herself when his arms moved around her, hugging her just the same way she was hugging him. She giggled quietly and eeped when he lifted her slightly off the ground, her feet off the floor.

"Damn it Shinji, put me down. You know I don't like when you do that." she complained, the blonde laughed and set her back on solid ground.

"So I'm guessin ya like it?" he guessed, she giggled and nodded in agreement.

"Duh, spiders are amazing." she stated, he rolled his eyes.

"That's yer opinion." he pointed out, she pouted cutely.

"But they're adorable." she whined, that's when he laughed.

"Things with eight legs and huge ass eyes are adorable?" he mused, she nodded eagerly. "Yeah Kaori, whatever ya say."

"Score I win." she cheered, he laughed to himself in amusement.

"Yeah yeah, let's get goin 'fore we're late." he suggested, she nodded again and followed him down the hallway.

That was the day Kaori grew suspicious of Shinji's actions, was he just trying to be the protective older brother or was there something else going through his head?

* * *

**Author's Note: Well there's another extra scene, I hope you guys liked it. I especially enjoyed writing it because it definitely showed that Shinji has feelings for Kaori, although it was more subtle. Let me know what you guys thought and I hope you all are excited for the upcoming chapters, tootles :)**


	26. Chapter Twenty One: Confession

I wrinkled my nose to myself, trying to find a way to occupy my complete and total boredom and finally just did a handstand. I stared upside down at everyone, giggling softly seeing the confused looks on their faces. Shinji rolled his eyes at my randomness, shoving my feet.

"KUSO!" I screamed, falling backwards onto the carpet.

Everyone started laughing and I groaned quietly at the new pain in my spine, glaring at my blonde fiancé. What the heck was his problem? That wasn't a very nice thing to do to someone, especially the person you would be getting married to.

"That was mean." I complained, Shinji howled with laughter.

"Couldn't resist Kai-chan." he teased, I rolled my eyes and pushed myself to sitting up.

"Yeah yeah." I grumbled, rubbing the back of my head.

"So how was High School Kaori-chan?" Hachigen inquired, I groaned loudly.

"It's horrid, I hate it!" I exclaimed, sounding outlandish. Everyone started laughing again, except Mashiro, the brown eyed girl looked so utterly confused.

"Nande?" she questioned, sounding slightly ditzy.

"Yeah Kaori, why was it so bad?" Lisa joked, I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Okay, I'll spill my guts." I said, feeling slightly annoyed.

"Then start talking." Love laughed, I narrowed my eyes darkly in his direction.

"Fine." I grumbled. "First, the teacher started writing all this weird ass shit on the board. It was some fucking foreign language or something, I had no clue what was going on at all."

"What'd it look like?" Rose questioned, I dug through my school bad and brought out the book.

I handed it to my blonde brother, watching him casually flip through the pages. Everyone looked at it over his shoulder, most of them seemed just as confused as I did. Lisa looked like she understood it though, that didn't surprise me in the least. Lisa was the smartest person in our group.

"What the hell is this shit?" Hiyori complained, Lisa adjusted her glasses and said

"Math." We all gave her a blank stare, what was math? "It's this thing that humans have to learn, dealing with numbers and such."

"Why the hell would they need to learn that?" Kensei grumbled, Mashiro shrugged.

"It's for dummies." she giggled, Kensei actually smiled at her.

"It does seem rather advanced." Hachigen commented, I nodded in agreement.

"I had no fucking clue what we were doing, one of Kurosaki's friends told me we'd been working on something called proofs." I added, nodding my head at the thought.

"How's he looking?" Shinji asked me, I shrugged a little.

"He's a baka." I stated, they all laughed again at my statement.

I wasn't laughing though, I was dead serious about this. This Shinigami wasn't intelligent in the least, he had no experience when it came to sensing reiatsu. How the hell had he managed to survive for so long, it was such a mystery. He was, as I said before, a boge baka.

"Why's that?" Rose inquired, I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest at the question.

"He has no idea what I am." I answered, they all looked at me with a blank expression.

"Huh?" Mashiro asked, sounding ditzy again.

"No joke, he didn't even sense that I have a high level of reiatsu." I explained, pursing my lips. "He's a joke guys, he doesn't even know how to sense reiatsu or control his own. I say we just give up on him, he won't be of any help to us if he can't do something as basic as sensing reiatsu."

"Kaori." Shinji said, grabbing my attention.

He sounded a little annoyed with what I'd just said, well this sure was great. I'd managed to upset my fiancé…again. I turned my head in his direction, letting him know that I was paying attention to him. He sighed softly when he saw the slightly hurt look on my face and moved into the floor with me, putting his arm around my shoulders. I smiled slightly, happy that he wasn't _as _aggravated with me anymore and snuggled close to him.

"Even though he is a little dumb." I giggled quietly and he smirked to himself in amusement. "He'll still come of use to us, despite him not managing to sense reiatsu, he has a good amount of it. If we can teach him ta control that hollow of his, he'll be a good ally fer us ta have."

"Heh, we shouldn't hafta waste our time on a dumbass like him." Hiyori grumbled to herself, I nodded in agreement with the blonde girl.

"We owe Kisuke." Shinji said, now _that _grabbed everyone's attention. "He helped save us, he wants us ta help this kid out since he can't do it himself. We owe him that much."

Even though I didn't want to admit it, Shinji was completely right. Had it not been for Urahara, we would've be full fledged hollows right now. Even though the thought of helping a Shinigami pissed me off to no end, I knew I had to. Urahara didn't have to help us when we'd started going through the Hollowification, he'd _wanted _to save our lives because he saw us as comrades and friends. We were still comrades to this day so I guessed we'd have to show a little gratitude by helping out someone that was in the same predicament that we'd been in years ago.

"Fine." I agreed, sighing to myself. "Training means I can beat the shit outa him when he joins us, I think I'll be okay with it then." Shinji laughed heartily and kissed the side of my head, rubbing my arm with his thumb. I giggled to myself and glanced over when Hiyori said

"Oi Kaori, ya can't have the Shinigami all to yerself. I call first dibs."

"Now that's not fair." I complained, pouting to myself. "Why do you get him first?"

"Cause it's gettin boring beatin up on yer guy." she said, rolling her eyes. I scoffed to myself, not feeling amused in the least. This wasn't fair, I wanted to kick the Shinigami's ass first.

"Okay Hiyori, I'll make ya a deal." I offered, she raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Nani?" she asked, sounding a little annoyed.

"We'll have a battle, whoever wins gets the kid first." I said with a grin. Her lips curved into a grin as well and she hopped to her feet, looking enthusiastic.

"Let's go, I'll beat yer ass." I rolled my eyes, she didn't understand what I was talking about.

"Not that kinda fight." I whined, pouting to myself. "I'm beat."

"Then what're ya talkin about?" Hiyori exclaimed, I felt a smirk come to my lips.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" I shouted, she almost fell over in surprise.

"Ooo, I love rock, paper, scissors." Mashiro cheered, I nodded in agreement. That was the best game ever in my opinion, I won ninety percent of the time. Hiyori made a reluctant noise but nodded, plopping down infront of me. "I'll referee."

"How can you referee rock, paper, scissors?" Lisa questioned, Mashiro giggled.

"Easy." she replied simply, she looked at the both of us. "Just watch, you both ready?" We nodded in agreement, I deeply focused on winning and she said "Go."

"Once, twice, shoot." we said in unison. I felt my jaw drop in anger, scissors cut paper.

"Damn it." I cursed, Hiyori grinned in victory.

"Ha ha." she laughed, punching the air.

"That wasn't fair." I complained, Hiyori ignored me.

"And the winner is, Hiyori-chan!" Mashiro announced, I huffed angrily in defeat.

Well, I guessed I'd just have to wait my turn to beat up the Shinigami in training.

* * *

_**The pendulum swings back. **_

_**The story barreling towards the future will stop for an instant, so that we may peer into the past. **_

_**Though it was only the briefest of moments, its effects were wide-spread and long-lasting.

* * *

**_

"So what's the Soutaichou want ya to do about the weird Rukongai shit?" I questioned, playing with some strands of Shinji's blonde hair. "I haven't seen ya for days so spill your guts Kensei."

Kensei rolled his eyes at me, grumbling about how I was such a bossy bitch at times. Hey, it was true. I wasn't going to deny it, I _was _a bitch over half the time. Why lie about something that you know is true, especially if other people know it's true…does that make any sense? Shinji chuckled quietly to himself in amusement and pressed his lips against my cheek, Rose grumbled quietly to himself but he didn't say anything. After the last fifteen minutes of him being all like "Shinji you better stop," I'd told my _loving _Oni-chan that he needed to shut his mouth and leave us alone. He hadn't been too pleased by it but when I'd pointed out to him that I was an adult, he didn't say another word about it all, he just grumbled to himself now in annoyance. Kensei sighed quietly at all the affection Shinji and I were showing towards each other and folded his arms over his chest. In my opinion, he was trying to act like a badass and tough guy. Heh, did Kensei want to impress Mashiro or what? If he was, then he was trying _way _too hard.

I glanced at Mashiro, watching her play with one of the toys she'd brought back from the world of the living. I couldn't be quite sure, but I vaguely remembered her calling it a yoyo. It looked really fun, I wanted one pretty bad.

"Yamamoto-Soutaichou told us to wait for perhaps a week or so, allow him to gather a little more information on what's going on in Rukongai. If nothing has improved within a week, then we're to send a team of Shinigami to check out the area on his order." Kensei told me with a bored tone of voice, I nodded a little.

"Where's Hiyori-chan?" Mashiro inquired, looking around Love's taichou office. "She hasn't hung out with us for a while."

"She's off working with Urahara-taichou on some stuff for the Technological Research Bureau, she's been pretty busy the last few days." Lisa said with a shrug, pursing her lips slightly. She moved her gaze to Shinji and myself, rolling her eyes at the two of cuddling. "God, Hiyori's gonna go crazy when she finds out about this."

"She won't be as bad as Oni-chan was." I said nonchalantly, shuddering a bit at the memory from a few days ago.

"Maybe not fer you." Shinji complained, poking my cheek. "She's gonna murder me."

"Aw, poor thing." I teased, sounding sweet. He rolled his eyes at my tone and I pouted to myself, kissing his cheek. "Love you dear." He smiled at me and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"I love you too Kai-chan." he told me, Mashiro made an 'aw' noise.

"This is so cute, I'm so happy for you guys." she said enthusiastically, I smiled a little to myself.

Mashiro was the only one that had been _immediately _happy for me when she'd found out about Shinji and me, I was thankful to have her support. Lisa, she'd been slightly grossed out by us being together. I guessed she found it gross because we'd been friends all our childhood, then we were suddenly lovers. I guessed I could understand why she'd be grossed out…kind of. Kensei still didn't understand why Shinji and I had picked each other to be with, I guessed he just would never understand…the baka. Love, he was poking all sorts of fun at me now, he could be such a jerk at times. Rose still wasn't very pleased with the fact that we were together, but he wasn't saying anything about it. He knew that Shinji made me happy, that Shinji loved me, and that he treated me right. That's all he really needed to know but with him being an older brother, he still had that whole protective thing going on.

"Arigato Mashiro." I said with a smile, wrapping my arms tighter around Shinji's torso. "I've got no clue how're we're gonna keep this secret now though."

"We'll just hafta try real hard." Shinji laughed, I giggled quietly to myself.

"Yeah, I think we can manage it." I joked, giggling again when he smiled. "But anyway, I'm getting bored sitting here so I think I'm gonna go skip around Seireitei for a bit."

"Skip around Seireitei?" Lisa repeated with an amused tone, I giggled quietly to myself.

"That's what I said." I reminded her, she rolled her eyes and opened up her book. I swore, Lisa was such a bookworm at times. She carried them with her wherever she went nowadays, I guess she had nothing better to do with her life.

"Shouldn't you be doing your paperwork rather than skipping around Seireitei?" Rose teased, I rolled my olive green eyes at him.

"Oni-chan, that's not fair." I complained, pouting to myself. "I need a break, my brain's gonna burst."

"Ya haven't even worked on it yet today either." Shinji said quietly. I kicked at his foot, silently telling him to shut up. He rolled his eyes, not saying another word and I smiled sweetly at my blonde brother.

"Oni-chan, I'll work on it later." I promised, shrugging my shoulders. He sighed softly and nodded, not arguing with me anymore. I giggled quietly to myself at the accomplishment and hopped off the desk, tugging at Shinji's hand. "Come with me please." I asked sweetly, he chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Fine Kai-chan." he agreed, moving off the desk.

We walked across the floor of the room together, holding hands as we walked and I eeked when I saw a foot move towards my ankles. I gasped in surprise and jumped up, managing to avoid the foot. I turned, glaring back at Love. Thank god I was a perceptive person, falling wouldn't have been a good thing.

"You jerk!" I yelled, pointing my finger at him. He laughed heartily, looking amused and I wrinkled my nose. "What the hell are you doing, trying to trip me and shit?"

"Ha ha, I haven't managed to pick on you for a while Kaori." he laughed, I narrowed my eyes into a glare. "I only wished I woulda managed to trip ya, you pay too much attention to everything."

"Good thing too." I grumbled softly, Shinji chuckled softly to himself.

I groaned angrily and let go of his hand, stalking out of the office with everyone laughing about how I couldn't take a joke. I crossed my arms over my chest, pouting angrily to myself. Thank goodness I'd managed to avoid that kick, it wouldn't have been a good thing. I glanced over at Shinji when he placed a hand on my shoulder, rolling my eyes to myself at his smirk. He chuckled quietly at me and moved his arm around my shoulders casually, I giggled to myself.

"So, we should totally go watch the sunset." I suggested, he grinned at the idea.

"Sounds good love." he agreed. "We can go ta my division if ya want."

"Fine by me." I said with a bored tone, scratching my cheek.

We walked across Seireitei together, conversing about the most random things as we walked. Although I loved Shinji more than anything in the world, I couldn't really focus on anything he was saying. There was something else that was occupying my thoughts, something that I needed to talk to him about; I didn't know how to go about it though. I'd already managed to get him alone like I'd originally planned but I didn't know where to go from there. Everything had gotten so crazy in the past three months, I hadn't ever thought things would get this crazy but they had. I'd been driving myself bonkers with everything going on, thankfully Motarasu Kumo had come to help me out after about two weeks worth of the craziness. That's what my thoughts were currently focusing themselves on, the last conversation I'd had with my Zanpakuto. Although I didn't really want to think about it, the thoughts were rushing back at me tenfold.

_I pounded my fists against my bed, groaning loudly in frustration. It was around two in the morning and Shinji had left not even ten minutes ago, leaving me alone in my room. I didn't really mind that he left, I knew that it was dangerous for him to be in my room for long periods of time but I was feeling extremely lonely right now. I didn't know what to think about all this, I didn't know what to do about it. I really needed someone to talk to but there was no one that I actually could manage getting away with talking to. I had Shinji but there was no way I could talk to him about all this, I just couldn't. I curled up in a ball on my side, resisting the urge to let the tears fall down my cheeks. I couldn't cry, I just couldn't let myself. I whimpered softly and blinked when I saw a black spider hop onto the pillow, right next to my head._

"_Motarasu Kumo." I whispered, I giggled softly when one of his legs poked my cheek._

"_Why're you so upset?" he questioned, seeming confused. "You're with Shinji now."_

"_I know." I said quietly, playing with a few strands of my spring green hair. "I am happy being with him, happier than I've ever been…demo…" _

_I stopped, wiping at my eyes. I hadn't been planning on crying but now I was, this was just great. I could see Motarasu Kumo's eyes soften when he saw my tears, I knew he was worried about me._

"_What's wrong?" he inquired, I swallowed the lump in my throat._

"_I-I can't make myself say it." I whimpered, he let out a soft sigh._

"_Then I'll just see what you're thinking." he replied, I nodded. _

_I couldn't force myself to say it, he'd just have to read my thoughts to know what I was thinking about…I couldn't make myself say it. I watched him focus for half a minute or so before all eight of his eyes snapped open, he looked so incredibly shocked._

"_Kaori…h-"_

"_I don't know okay!" I interrupted, feeling extremely upset. "I…don't know what to do." _

_He didn't say anything for a few minutes, more than likely contemplating on what he thought I should do and finally let out a soft sigh of exasperation. I wiped at my eyes again, watching him._

"_You're sure?" he asked curiously, I nodded in agreement._

"_Absolutely…look again if you don't believe me." I suggested, he nodded a little. _

_He closed his eyes, focusing again on everything going on around the two of us and I stared at him blankly. Again, his eyes snapped open. He believed me now and he looked so much more worried than he'd originally been._

"_It's true then." he murmured, I nodded._

"_What do I do?" I asked, feeling so utterly confused. He shook his head, not seeming as though he knew what to tell me and finally said with a reluctant tone_

"_You need to talk to Shinji." I shook my head immediately, I couldn't tell him what was going on._

"_I can't." I argued._

"_Nande Kaori?" he inquired, sounding confused._

"_He'll…hate me." I whispered, hugging myself to hold myself together. He shook his head, he looked slightly annoyed with what I'd just said._

"_Kaori, that's not true in the least." he told me. "Although Shinji has yet to tell you that he loves you, he does."_

"_Demo…" I stopped, not knowing what I was even planning on saying._

"_You need to talk to him." he repeated, I nodded sullenly. "Everything will be fine Kaori, please trust me."_

"_I do Motarasu Kumo, you're the only person I know I can count on one hundred and ten percent. You're my other half." I said softly, smiling a little. He chuckled quietly to himself and nodded in agreement._

"_Hai, and you're my other half." he agreed. "It hurts me to see you like this though, you have no idea."_

"_Gomenasai." I apologized, all eight of his eyes rolled towards the ceiling of my room._

"_You can make it up to me by talking to Shinji." he said with a sigh, I cringed back into the covers. "Please Kaori, you have to."_

"_I know…I just…I'm afraid." I admitted, he nodded a little._

"_I know you are dear but this is something you can't avoid forever, you need to talk to him. He'll always be there for you." he reminded me, I felt a small smile come to my lips at the words. "He loves you very much Kaori."_

"_Arigato." I whispered, feeling a little better. He chuckled and poked my cheek with one of his legs to make me smile again, it wound up working too. "I'm just…gonna need a while."_

"_I understand, don't take too long though." he advised, I nodded a little. "Make sure to be more careful, things may get slightly complicated with the both of you if you're not."_

"_Alright, I'll make sure to watch my back." I swore, he nodded approvingly._

"_I'll talk to you another time Kaori, don't hurt yourself." he asked of me, I nodded in agreement._

"_Just because you asked so nicely." I teased, he laughed._

_I watched him fade from the room, turning to lay on my back. I stared up at the ceiling, sighing softly. I'd need to do some more thinking but like Motarasu Kumo said, I couldn't avoid this forever._

Shinji and I jumped up onto one of the buildings of his division, taking some seats next to each other on the roof. I giggled quietly when he fell on his face in the attempt to sit down, poking his arm teasingly when he'd made a faceplant.

"Are you dead?" I questioned, he groaned in response. "I take that as a no."

"Shaddup." he grumbled, turning over on his back.

I rolled my eyes to myself, putting my hands behind me to lean back on them. I tilted my head up, staring at the sky. The colors looked beautiful as usual, I didn't think there was a better time of day than the sunset…the night was a close second though with all the stars. I smiled softly to myself and glanced at Shinji, licking my lips in thought. He glanced over at me, chuckling when he saw I was looking at him.

"Whacha thinkin about Kai-chan?" he inquired, I shrugged a little.

"How Oni-chan hasn't killed you yet." I joked, he made a face at me in response.

"Don't jinx it, sheesh Kaori." he groaned, I wrinkled my nose slightly.

"Aw, are you still afraid he'll murder you or something?" I teased, he groaned again.

"You have no idea." he mumbled to himself, I giggled quietly at his tone of voice and scooted slightly closer to him.

I watched a smile form on his lips and we laid back on the roof together, still staring up at the sky. I took a slow breath, trying to force myself to calm down and looked over at him. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before fully turning his head towards me, seeming confused about the sad look on my face.

"Kaori, what's wrong?" he asked me.

I lowered my eyes at the question, my nervousness had fully just made it as high as the sky, I was _that _nervous about all this. Hopefully…it all worked out well, I couldn't bear if it didn't. I was even beginning to feel like I was going to cry, I _really _didn't want to cry infront of Shinji.

"We…need to talk." I whispered, I felt his fingers hook under my chin. He titled my face up, looking confused when he saw the tears in my eyes. I blinked, the tears slowly began rolling down my cheeks.

"Kaori?" he questioned, I took a shaky breath. "Love, what's wrong? Why're you crying?"

"I…I'm scared." I admitted, he looked totally lost as to what I was talking about.

"Nande?" he asked, I could feel my body shaking at the thought.

I felt like I was about to completely fall apart, as though I wouldn't manage to hold myself together much longer. I _had _to though, I had to let him know. I took another breath, trying to force myself to calm down and looked back up into his eyes.

"Shinji…I love you so much." I whispered, he smiled a little at me.

"I know you do Kai-chan, and I love you." he told me, I felt a small smile come to my lips. I sighed and said softly

"I'm planning on resigning."

He looked totally shocked at my words, as though he didn't understand what had gotten into me. He knew how much I loved being a Shinigami, how much I loved the job I had, and how much my division meant to me. I knew he didn't have a clue why I wanted to resign but whatever he was about to guess, I knew that he would be wrong.

"Kaori." he said slowly, I nodded a bit. "No one's gonna find out about us, the others'll keep it a secret. No one's gonna know."

"Hai, they will." I disagreed, he slowly shook his head.

"No, they won't." he argued, sounding slightly frustrated with me. "What the hell has gotten into you Kaori, seriously? Before Rose found out, you wouldn't have even thought about resigning from your position. Did he tell you that ya hafta resign or some shit, cause if he did then-"

"Shinji." I interrupted, he stopped his babbling and focused his attention on me. "Oni-chan didn't tell me to resign, it's something I decided on my own."

"Nande Kaori?" he questioned, I bit my lower lip nervously. "Well?"

"I…can't stay here even though I want to." I told him, he looked so confused by what I was saying.

I knew that I needed to clarify what I was talking about, but I didn't really know how I could put it all into words. I wasn't very good with making speeches, I never really had been throughout my whole life. The only time I managed to make them, was when I was making everything funny. There was no way I could make this funny and lighthearted though, no possible way.

"Nande Kaori?" he repeated, I took a slow breath.

'Well…I guess there's no avoiding it.'

"Shinji…I…"

I groaned and buried my face in my hands, I couldn't even get the words to come out of my mouth. I looked up when a kiss was planted on my forehead, looking at Shinji confused. He smiled a little at me, moving his hand to my cheek and stroked my cheek with his thumb.

"Kai-chan, talk to me." he asked of me, I lightly kissed the palm of his hand before looking back up into his eyes.

That's when I realized, how much he loved me. Just the look in his eyes told me that he cared more about me than anything in the world, that he would do anything to make me happy. Hopefully, what I said wouldn't change any of his feelings. I took a slow breath and said softly

"Promise you won't hate me?" He chuckled softly at the question, planting another kiss on my forehead.

"That's a pretty dumb request my little love." he teased, I felt a smile tugging at my lips. "I could never hate ya Kaori, ya mean everything to me." I nodded, finally managing to calm myself down a little more and he said "Now then, tell me what's on yer mind." I nodded in agreement and inhaled, slowly exhaling through my nose. I parted my lips and said the last words I ever thought I would say.

"Shinji…I'm pregnant."

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to update this story, I've been a little too busy with work and working on this story means tons of manga searching for certain future scenes! Haha anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it and aren't too pissed off with that cliffhanger I left :/ Review and tell me how you liked it :)**

**Lots of Love**

**Eva  
**


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